


The Night Before the Future

by StraySketches



Category: Free!, Gargoyles (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Drama, Explicit Language, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-25 14:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12037797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StraySketches/pseuds/StraySketches
Summary: Two clans of gargoyles--creatures that turn to stone during the day and come to life by night--reside in the city of Iwatobi.  Video evidence of their existence is eventually caught on camera, and the clans struggle to find their place in the world as the city transforms into a bustling metropolis almost overnight.





	1. Toraichi the Wave

**Author's Note:**

> The gargoyles in this fic are directly based on Greg Weisman's (the creator of Disney's "Gargoyles") interpretations, and therefore follow most of his guidelines in terms of biology and general customs (with some liberties).
> 
> **EDIT**: Edited a few punctuation and grammar errors, as well as changed the way gargoyles age; for this fic in particuliar, gargoyles age the same as humans but have an average of double the lifespans.

It happened in a single night and rippled through the city of Iwatobi like a wave.

***

Miyako glided as quickly as the wind would carry her over the dark, quiet coastline, towards the inner city. Her clan had just said their goodbyes and were one by one going back to business as usual until only Hiro and Tachi, her closest friends, were left, watching her until her silhouette disappeared.

“Think she’ll be happier?” Tachi asked, finally moving towards one of two abandoned beach homes the clan utilized for storage. She pushed the door open, its handle long gone, grabbed two empty backpacks hanging on the wall, and gave one to her companion.

“She’ll definitely be less restless,” Hiro replied, maneuvering the backpack’s straps under his wings, over his shoulders and clipping them into place. “The city will keep her busy.”

Tachi adjusted her own pack. “I just hope she’ll be safe, I worry every time another one of us goes over there.”

“You two worry too much,” a burly grey tank of a gargoyle chuckled—the leader of the clan, Ono. He approached the house with a slow saunter as they came outside. “Don’t worry for her, have confidence in her! She’s not the first of ours to transfer to Samezuka and I doubt she’ll be the last.”

“I have no doubt the Samezuka clan will be safe, I’m hoping the Samezuka district is as kind,” Tachi stretched her green feathered wings a few times, pulling their muscles and testing the currents coming in from the waves.

“Well, Seijuro left and I haven’t heard any complaints from him. Between you two and me, the last I spoke to him, Toraichi said he was heavily considering our boy as his second.”

Hiro’s eyes lit up. “So soon?”

“It’s not official or anything, but Seij has proven himself more than capable of taking charge. Not going to lie, I’m kind of jealous, he was such a hothead before he left, guess city living humbled him.” Ono rubbed the back of his neck and looked out at the expanse of beach that lay before him on either side.

Right in the middle of the vast beach and small grassy hill were two beach houses that had been put up for sale and abandoned long ago. Gargoyles weren’t the best carpenters, but they did what they could to keep the homes as neat as possible, sweeping away dust and keeping their belongings organized. The paint outside had started to chip in some places, but that was of little concern. His clan was scattered throughout the beach, talking, playing, swimming in the waves, exercising their wings in the skies—this was where the Iwatobi clan lived, far enough from humans to live as they pleased without being on constant alert.

It was rumored amongst the clan that their ancestors came from the mountains and eventually migrated down to the coast.

The houses came some five or so years ago, and Ono was sure they would have to give up their beachside home, but the two houses were built, construction was halted before more could go up, and no humans ever came. The closest beaches occupied by humans were miles away, the clan protected by an uninhabitable rocky cliff to one side, and miles of wilderness beyond the beach on the other. The Iwatobi clan didn’t know much about human customs, save for what they bothered to learn from the fae folk they made supply runs to, and eventually the clan grasped enough of the concept of how humans used money to learn that the houses were too expensive for their own good, so they fell through and the clan was once again safe.

They now used the homes as an epicenter, storing supplies, food, clothes, personal items and occasionally gathering inside when weather inclined. Everyone worked to keep the houses tidy and the beach clean. The beach had long since been declared closed by the authorities and haunted by the locals and the Iwatobi clan rarely ventured into the city unless making supply runs, which Hiro and Tachi were assigned to tonight. Miyako grew up in this clan and at some point she found cleaning and swimming too dull for her senses and craved something more exciting; shortly after, she met Toraichi.

“Go on, you two, you’re wasting moonlight,” Ono said, as the pair climbed to the roof of one of the houses, caught a gust a wind and flew towards the city.

Iwatobi was a large but modest island city, connected to the rest of the world through bridges and ferries on the west side; it grew from infancy as a small fishing town and had since tripled in size, though not so much in grandeur. It had its checkpoints—choice restaurants, lovely housing options, and a downtown one could describe as bustling on the right day—but was rarely filled with excitement or experiences typically associated with a city of its size. Located in the heart of the city was the social hub known as the Samezuka district, an expanse of shops and noise that spanned about three blocks, where the other gargoyle clan resided.

Miyako tucked her wings close to her as she maneuvered between vacant streets and dark alleys, forced to be more wary of humans. She flew down into one alley, gliding silently over a passing car, and pressed herself against the cement wall. She watched as people yelled over the crowd, trying to hear themselves, keeping their eyes glued to the path in front of them or to the ground to avoid relentless salespersons. If anything new or exciting came to Iwatobi, Samezuka would find it first and spread it through the rest of the city like a literal heartbeat, pumping ideas, merchandise and the promise of something bigger, better, flasher. On the opposite end of the street, a large billboard was in the process of being built; another sign to sell another product. Miyako had never seen actual daylight, but she surmized Samezuka was just as bright. The energy in the street was invigorating, she was almost tempted to walk out and experience the rush for herself, but instead she sighed and scaled the wall, making her way to the roof.

In the short distance, she saw shadows moving across the rooftops—they’d almost be undetectable if she didn’t know what she was looking at—and her heart thrummed loudly in her chest when one of the shadows made their way towards her.

Toraichi was a built gargoyle with medium brown skin, his body covered in dark stripes outlined in white. His large batlike wings wrapped lazily around Miyako, bringing her closer. 

“Welcome home,” Toraichi said, gently tucking a strand of long red hair out of her face.

They fell into each other’s arms like it was the one place they were always meant to be. Toraichi was the young leader of the Samezuka district clan, a caring and considerate leader who worked alongside his clan rather than ruled over it. He came to the city with a handful of rogues—gargoyles that lived on their own—some years before. They found a home in Samezuka, taking an immediate liking to how much busier it was than the rest of the city, and soon afterwards they were found by the Iwatobi clan. Younger members of the home clan, curious about the newcomers, would often hang around until some became a permanent part of it, and the ragtag Samezuka group of no more than five quickly grew to fifteen.

***

“And then shortly after is when we all showed up,” Rin said, crossing his arms in front of him with a grimace.

Rin and his rookery siblings were now all ten years old, and so much had changed in the city since then. Samezuka grew from three blocks to six and with the advancement of technology, came the fancier cellphones, the faster cars, and the finished installation of the billboards, all of which made the district ten times noisier than it had ever been. The Iwatobi clan still kept to themselves by the coast, the Samezuka clan still lived in the inner district, and the gargoyles, overall, despite hearsay and countless cameras that were now scattered throughout the world, were still an urban myth to the humans inhabitants.

The garden park of Iwatobi was a ghost town after midnight, and one of many designated playgrounds for the offspring of the Iwatobi and Samezuka clans. Gargoyle children are considered children of the whole clan and being children of nearby sister clans, the hatchings were blessed with twice as many guardians and rookery siblings. Rin—a light salomon-red gargoyle with darker, wide stripes outlining his face and body—sat before his rookery siblings pretending to look unimpressed with the stars in their eyes.

“Tell it again, Rinrin!” Nagisa, a yellow ball of energy jumped up, shaking Rin’s arm.

“No way, this is the third time you’ve heard it this month.”

“But it’s so sweet, it’s almost like a fairytale!”

“I guess. Come on, telling stories is boring, let’s race instead! Bet I can still beat all of you, what do you say, Haruka?”

Rin raised a spiked brow ridge towards the coalition of gargoyle hatchings before him, with expressions ranging from terrified to uninterested. Haruka—a light blue gargoyle with eyes the color of the ocean—was the latter.

“You’ve already proved you’re faster than us, Rin, isn’t it kind of boring to keep winning the same races?” Makoto, a green gargoyle with feathered wings he hadn’t grown into yet, said, nervously shuffling.

“Your wings are bigger than me, Makoto, you should practically be able to fly,” Rin said with a sly smirk.

“We can’t fly, we only glide,” Haru said dryly.

“Maybe you could teach us, Rin?” a pink gargoyle—Kisuimi—snickered.

“It’s going to rain soon,” Haruka said.

“So it is; come on, Rin, Gou, Aiichiro, Shouta—where are Kazuki and Takuya?” Toraichi came behind the children, counting as he role-called.

“Up here, Tora!” Toraichi looked up to find the two unaccounted gargoyles sitting idly on a high tree branch.

“I’m very proud of you two, you’re great climbers for your age! Would you mind climbing back down, though? You don’t want to be stuck in the park in the rain, or when dawn comes around, do you?”

“No, Toraichi,” the two shrugged, spread their wings and gently glided down to the ground with less than gentle landings.

“Always a pleasure, Toraichi; give Miyako and the rest of Samezuka our best,” a light green female said, gathering her brood with the help of a younger grey male.

“Same to you, Tachi; safe flight home,” Toraichi nodded.

“Ugh, fine, but this isn’t over! See you guys!” Rin waved to the Iwatobi hatchings and followed his Samezuka siblings.

Toraichi walked to a small hill and flapped his wings a few times, creating stronger gusts of wind in front of him. One by one, the hatchings spread their little wings and jumped in front of him, Kazuki and Takuya finding their balance as gracefully as they landed from the tree. Aiichiro gave a noble effort, having trouble at first but forcing his wings to straighten out. Kisumi, Gou and Shouta followed after and Rin brought up the rear, proudly extending his wings and catching the wind with ease. One by one, the Samezuka children glided over the grass, the wind provided by Toraichi propelling them high enough to catch natural gusts of wind, until they were all airborne and making their way back to the district. Once all accounted for, Toraichi took to the skies after them.

 

Toraichi flinched when the cold drizzle started to fall.

“Stay together, kids, it might pick u—”

It happened in an instant; he barely had time to process the sound before his chest felt like it was on fire. His hands scrambled over his body, trying to follow the blood to the wound. He’d been shot on the left side, missing his heart, but just barely.

“Toraichi?” Somewhere in the haze of pain and fear, he heard Aiichio’s dull whimper.

Toraichi commanded the hatchlings to fly higher, keeping himself between them and whoever was causing trouble this late at night.

“No matter what, don’t stop until you’re home, understand?”

“Toraichi…,” this time it was Gou. He felt his body waver, couldn’t concentrate on keeping his wings steady and slowly he felt himself fall.

He slammed to the ground, landing at the mouth of an alley, blood painting the street. The street was, thankfully, clear—a small collection of stores that were long closed for the night. His ears flinched, hearing voices no less than a block away. He dared to remove his hand from his chest to slink himself into the cover of the shadows, away from the streetlamps.

“Toraichi?” He looked up to see his hatchlings standing over him, frightened.

“I told you all to go home,” he hissed, collapsing to the ground again.

“Kazuki’s getting everyone, we can’t leave you,” Rin inhaled sharply, trying to steady his quivering voice.

“It’s not safe here! Climb to the roof and go home.”

Footsteps clicked outside of the alley. “I think I saw something go this way…”

No sooner did he hear him did three men turn the corner of the alley, walking slowly, taking cautious steps in the dark. They hadn’t seen him yet but they were coming. If they moved, they’d be heard; if they stayed, they’d be seen. Toraichi’s chest felt heavy. He was weak, but hearing the petrified gasps of the hatchlings behind him forced him on his feet.

“The fuck—what is that…?” another man said.

“Toraichi?” Gou whimpered.

Something clicked in the quiet. Toraichi gathered all the strength he had, stood tall, wings expanding as far as they could, bent slightly from pushing against the buildings on either side of him. Not a single one of his children were dying tonight.

“Toraichi!”

Miyako’s voice rang loud in the alley, bouncing off the walls and vibrating through Toraichi’s ears. He kept his wings expanded as she collected the hatchlings amongst a cacophony of wild gunfire. A single bullet grazed her leg as she forced them to scale the wall.

“Rin, don’t look back!” Miyako demanded, pushing her son to the rooftop and leading them back to Samezuka.

Seijuro and the rest of the clan few past her seconds later, half of them turning around to lead the hatchlings home and the rest diving into the alley and chasing the men away.

It happened in a single night and rippled through the city of Iwatobi like a wave.

Not one week after the death of Toraichi did the billboards start playing the video that rattled the city to the core: a loud, frantic video of black, red and brown blurs screaming out of rage and fear, on a rainy night, in a dark alley. It’s only for a second, when the camera is still enough to catch the clear form of Toraichi—stripes, wings, eyes blazing white as hellfire—approaching the man with the gun who’s standing before the man recording the whole thing with shaky hands. A shout, almost like the call of a name, is heard, a red blur moves in the background, then three rounds go off, the gargoyle yell twists into a sudden, raspy breath and the video cuts off. The video was just over five seconds long and it played constantly. On the news, on talk shows, on the radio stations people would listen to on their way to work. Starting in Samezuka, the city transformed overnight and people came from all over. 

And they kept coming.

Eventually, Miyako couldn’t take it anymore. One night, she grabbed Rin and Gou without a word and she left.

***

“Miyako, I’m so sorry,” Tachi said, her voice tight with regret.

“They kept playing it, over and over,” Miyako held her arms close to her.

“I’m sorry,” Hiro—now the recently appointed new leader—said, then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and pointed towards the sea. “Listen, Tachi and I have been discussing it with the clan for awhile, we’ve already moved all our things. Do you see that small island? We’re all going there tomorrow night.”

Miyako raised a pensive brow.

“The humans are coming in, most of the woods have been stripped down and I don’t think they’re stopping anytime soon. I know it’s a lot to ask, Miyako, but I think it’s safer, especially with…all that’s happened,” Hiro continued. “Once we get everyone on the island, I’ll fly back to Samezuka and offer for them to come with us; there’s plenty of room.”

“They won’t go,” Miyako said flatly.

Hiro eyed Rin and Gou as they slunk away from behind Miyako and walked to the oceanfront, their feet just out of reach from the waves. It’d been a few nights since Toraichi’s death and it was still weighing heavily on everyone. Gou sat, idly pushing her feet under the wet sand and tucking her knees and wings close to her. Rin kept staring at the ocean, at the black silhouette of the island. He looked at Gou sitting next to him. He didn’t need to turn around to know Miyako’s eyes were locked on them, keeping them, specifically, safe.

“Rin? Gou?” Makoto kneeled on the beach about two feet from them.

Rin sat in the sand. “Aren’t you scared of the ocean, Makoto?”

“Yeah, and I still can’t glide that well, but I don’t have any right to be scared about that now. I’m sorry about Toraichi.”

Somehow, Tachi convinced Miyako to rest in one of the houses while Hiro kept watch over the hatchlings. He walked down the three steps from the door, giving Miyako her privacy to grieve. One by one, Hiro noticed the Iwatobi hatchlings head for the beach.

Kisumi looked over the beach shacks, towards the inner city. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Miyako only took us,” Gou said.

“But why? What’s everyone else going to do?” Nagisa asked.

“They’re going to stay in Samezuka; I think she took us because we’re her children.”

“But that’s not fair, they’re all her children. Is the rest of Samezuka safe?”

“I wish we stayed,” Rin threw a pebble into the water. “Miyako’s worried Samezuka won’t be safe anymore, but we were attacked blocks away; does that mean no place is safe?”

“Hiro and Tachi think going to the island will keep us safe; they said the city’s going to keep expanding,” Makoto said.

“So that’s it then, we just keep running because the humans keep pushing in? We should be finding ways to work with them, not run from them.” A guttural growl found its way up Rin’s throat until it got caught in a sob. He aggressively tried to wipe the tears away before they came out, didn’t want to admit there was a reason to cry. “Otherwise, it’s just going to keep happening all over again.” 

The hatchlings sat in the silence for the rest of the night, letting Rin and Gou cry, crying themselves. When the hatchlings tired themselves out and slept on one another’s shoulders for support, Hiro and Tachi carried them one by one into the beach house where Miyako slept. Once they were all gathered, the leaders looked out onto the island, the orange hues of the sun just starting to peak over the horizon.

“Maybe I should go with you to Samezuka tomorrow night; what are we going to do if we lose you, too?” Tachi breathed out.

“Tachi, you know we can’t leave this clan leaderless, especially now. I won’t be long.”

“You know they won’t go.”

“I know, but I want to let them know the option is available, should they ever want it.”

“Miyako shouldn’t have taken Rin and Gou.”

“No, she shouldn’t have, but that’s not my call, and I doubt Samezuka will want to force them back. If they ever choose to return to Samezuka one day, I won’t stop them.”

“I envy them sometimes.”

Hiro tilted his head slightly.

“Toraichi’s gone and they still refuse to run away. With the way this city is going, I think they’re going to thrive in it.”

“And us? Do you think we’ll thrive?”

Tachi looked at the island. “I think we’ll get by, like we always have. This clan’s too big and set in its own ways to start changing now. Maybe in the future.”

The sun rose over the beach. Hiro and Tachi took their defensive poses, alongside the rest of their clan, in front of the houses, as their skin hardened and turned into grey, solid stone, protecting their home even in sleep.

***

“Move out!” Hiro called out to his clan.

They were blessed with a clear night—no clouds, no rough waves, and since they weren’t on the shipping side of the island, thankfully, no boats, but it was no easy thing moving the forty or so individuals of the Iwatobi clan from the coastline to the island.

Tachi took the lead while Hiro took the rear to watch for stragglers. The small island was about ten miles from the main city which was just far enough that the young had a harder time making the journey. Sure enough, Makoto’s flight pattern started to fault shortly after take off; his wings were too big and he hated being over so much open ocean.

“Makoto, spread your wings more,” Tachi said.

“I’m trying, but I’m scared!” Makoto shouted, unable to focus enough to get his wings to cooperate.

“Makoto,” Haru said, gliding over to his friend with ease. “Can I show you something?”

Makoto nodded.

Haru held out his hand, waiting patiently for Makoto to take it. When he did, Haru quickly swung Makoto under him, forcing him to glide parallel to him, only able to see the night sky and Haru.

“You’ve got bigger wings than a lot of us so you can catch more air,” Haru said. “Try to think of the ocean as another sky.”

Makoto gulped once, steadied his breathing. Despite his back being to the sea, and knowing he couldn’t glide like this for long without Haru being there to catch the currents the right way, it was enough to make him regain his confidence and he outstretched his wings.

“Thanks, Haru,” Makoto said, flapping his wing so he was gliding the right way.

“Hey, Makoto, now that you got your glide back, we never got to have that race,” Rin said weakly, coming to Haru and Makoto’s side. The Iwatobi boys stared at Rin, the usual fire in his eyes trying so hard not to die out. “Race you guys?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Makoto said, daring to curl his lips into a smile.

Rin, Haru and Makoto raced ahead, of the clan, Rin expertly dipped close to the ocean to catch the wind gusts off the waves. Seeing the three of them excitedly dodge over the waves, Gou, Nagisa and Kisumi sped ahead to keep up, with the adults close behind. At one point, Rin knew Miyako told him to slow down, but he didn’t process it as words. He heard the gentle whisper of the waves below him, the laughter of his friends beside him, the wind trailing under his wings. For a brief second he chose to forget that he had to leave half his friends in Samezuka without being able to say goodbye, that some part of him felt like he was a coward for running away, even if it meant being safe, and that Toraichi wasn’t right behind him.

***

Makoto breathed a sigh of frustration as his claws dug into the cliff face.

“Hurry up, Mako, you want to impress Haru, don’t you?” Nagisa teased, jumping from one vantage point to the other with ease.

“Haruka’s not here,” Makoto blushed.

Nagisa somersaulted off the rock face, fell through the air until he was close to the thin strip of rocky beach below, then glided back to the rocks to start over. “Yeah, but he can still see you!”

Makoto gave a passing glance behind him, the mainland glowing like a star in the corner of his eye, the ocean an endless blue-black darkness only broken by the white trail of moonlight. Haru was somewhere in there, swimming with ease, probably watching him right now. Makoto envied his ability to feel so at home there, when he was still struggling to feel at ease on land. Even when he tucked in his wings, the wind would always seem to catch underneath them, and if it wasn’t for his claws anchoring him into the rock wall, he was sure he would fall.

Tachi would often use this cliff for teaching purposes when she was left in charge of watching the youngsters (though not so young anymore at twenty-six), training them to rely on strength and stamina rather than default to relying on their wings, keeping their stamina up, and keeping the restless ones out of trouble. Tonight, however, wasn’t a training session.

Rin zipped past Makoto with a determined huff, followed immediately by another gargoyle: Gou.

Rin clawed his way to the top, about to give a triumphant shout when he noticed two red feet standing before him.

“Next time, Rin,” Gou said with a laugh.

The rest of them eventually made it, with Nagisa coming in last, never taking the race seriously.

“Not really,” Rin panted out.

Gou’s body wilted. “Damn, I forgot for a second…so you’re really going.”

“Yeah; figured I’d get one more race in,” he stood up, pushing his deep maroon hair out of his face. He noticed her pout and quickly grabbed her in a headlock. “Try not to miss me too much.”

Makoto and Nagisa looked out onto the ocean. About twenty yards out, a blue, glistening figure drifted just underneath the surface. It rode the waves until they drifted too close to the shore, then disappeared into the darkness and came back up to ride another wave.

“Might as well say bye to him, too,” Rin said, jumping off the cliff and letting the winds glide him down to a collection of slick rocks, eroded by years of tides crashing against them.

The blue figure swam towards the rocks, propping his arms over one and keeping the rest of his body submerged. Rin kneeled down to meet his gaze.

“Gou won again, didn’t she?” Haruka smirked.

“Shut up. Gou was the only one giving it her all, you could have provided some needed competition.”

“Sorry; gliding I don’t mind, but climbing’s not really my thing.”

“Yeah, Tachi told me you always skip out during training.”

They fell in silence and looked at the Iwatobi mainland, the halo of light from the skyscrapers beckoning like lamps to moths.

“How’d Miyako take it?”

Rin had had a full night of heartfelt goodbyes and took this moment to really look at the future he was choosing for himself. He’d contemplated going back ever since the night Miyako brought him and Gou back to the Iwatobi clan, but now he was old enough and sure enough to go back.

“Alright, I guess. She was silent for most of it, almost cried, I think Tachi being there helped. She didn’t look so torn up when Kisumi left a few years back.”

“Rin…” Haru got out of the water and hugged him tightly.

Rin laughed, forcing tears back. “You couldn’t dry off first, could you?”

“Shut up, don’t ruin it, you’ll dry off on the glide over.”

Sighing, Rin stepped back and unfurled his large batlike wings. “See you around, Haru.”

The Iwatobi Rin knew was very different from the one he left. The beach where the clan used to reside was now stacked with beach houses, the original two demolished and replaced. Flying into the city, he had to rely on very faint muscle memory to guide him towards the district, for every other block seemed to have turned into its own version of Samezuka. It was overwhelming.

The district was still distinguishable, for as bright and crowded as the rest of the city was, Samezuka was still the brightest. The billboards multiplied by the tens, the noise was almost deafening, the mass of people below ebbed and flowed without pause, creating a singular, intimidating presence like the sea itself.

“Rin!” No sooner had Rin landed on a rooftop that he was knocked to the ground. When he caught his breath, he noticed the eruption of laughter above him.

“You look so old now!” Kazuki bellowed.

Sejuro, an orange gargoyle with an explosive personality to match his wild, spiky hair, stood before them, watching the Samezuka boys tackle Rin to the ground and reluctantly let him up.

“Come on, guys, he just got here,” Aiichiro—a pale blue-grey gargoyle with silvery short hair—said, helping Rin to his feet.

Rin caught his breath and smiled, beaming. “It’s nice to see you all again.”

“It’ll be nice for about a week,” Seijuro said, his hands on his hips, “then we’re putting you to work!” He’d taken Toraichi’s place as the leader shortly after his death, and seemed to fit into the role nicely. “Welcome back to Samezuka.”

***

“I’d like the first page of your assignment handed in first thing tomorrow, no excuses!” Rei called out, leaning over his desk to project his voice to the students that practically ran out of his classroom. Once everyone was gone, he slunk into his chair and sighed, taking a moment to clean his bright red reading glasses.

He had about five minutes until his next class arrived, so he scuttled through his wallet to find the last dollar he had and rushed to the vending machine down the hallway like his life depended on it.

“Don’t they have anything in here besides junk?” Rei put a hand on his hip and decided on peanut butter crackers. The machine made a taunting noise as the it pushed the crackers forward and refused to let go. “Oh hell no.”

A man with brown hair that flayed in every direction walked down the stairway and stopped when he heard loud, exasperated cries of “don’t have time for this,” “I didn’t even want them anyway,” and “I only have one dollar!”

Natsuya Kirishima turned the corner and held in a laugh, seeing a full-grown man wrestling with a vending machine with so much earnest. He pitied him. “You must be Ryugazaki.”

“Correct,” Rei said, leaning his head against the vending machine, his face turning bright red, defeated.

Natsuya took a dollar from his pocket. “Here.”

“Oh, no, please, I don’t want your money.”

“Just take it, I already ate today.”

Natsuya’s eyes were unwavering, and Rei reluctantly took the money. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“No problem.”

“We haven’t met, have we?”

“No, I’m Natsuya, I’m the guidance counselor, my office’s right down the hallway.”

“Rei Ryugazaki,” he held out his hand and Natsuya shook it. He had a hell of a grip for a high school guidance counselor. “New target practice.”

Natsuya couldn’t hide the laugh this time. “You’ll get the hang of it. Little word of advice: listen to your students, they know more then we give them credit for.”

“I’ll try, thank you.”

Rei pushed the dollar into the slot, watching it with pleading eyes. The loudspeakers throughout the school came to life with a harsh screech, followed by the pleasant but routine voice of the principal, sounding way too cheery for 8am in the morning.

“Good morning, students and faculty of Goro Sasabe High!” she started, going on about staying fit with the school’s new healthier options available in the cafeteria (Rei chuckled), the various clubs that were looking for members, and how everyone could create “a safe and clean school environment” by not writing graffiti all over the bathrooms. “And don’t forget, all students going on the school trip to Nightwatch Inc., please have your permission slips signed by the end of the week.”

“Ooooh, I forgot about that trip…,” Rei groans, rubbing his temples.

“You’re going?” Natsuya asked.

“Yes, I volunteered as a chaperone at the last minute, figured it’d help me ease into the job. That was before I worked my first day, though; I’m going to be exhausted.”

“That place really has grown over the years,” Natsuya said. Rei was surprised to hear—what was that? Pride?—in his voice.

“You’ve been?”

“My fiancée works there, helped build the place from the ground up. It’s a little tacky, but it does its job.”

“So it’s a tourist attraction? That specializes in what?”

“Urban myths, mostly, likes to put the idea in people’s heads of supernatural creatures living right under our noses! It grew damn near overnight after the video went up.”

“Oh, yes,” that video. The one that helped put Iwatobi on the map, first with the tourists, then the monster fans, then the general populace, until more than half the people that came to reside in the city didn’t even give a damn about supposed monster sightings, they just wanted a spot in the city that blossomed to life practically overnight. Rei wouldn’t have even considered Iwatobi—it’s reputation being it was big, but unusually empty—but then he saw the video (he wasn’t really sure what he was looking at but he knew people would be talking about it), and one link led to another, and Iwatobi didn’t seem so empty or dull anymore. He started looking up job listings, just for the heck of it, but then he noticed the positions were actually…full? Jobs were full, apartments were full, anything remotely close to Samezuka was out of the question. It was only through sheer luck—one last browse—that Rei stumbled upon a high school teaching position. “What do you suppose that was, anyway?”

“Dunno. My fiancée thinks it’s a hoax, but refuses to show it at the facility, says it’s ‘overplayed.’”

“Hell of hoax, to have this much of an impact on an entire city.”

“People like a good monster story and this one’s got pretty convincing evidence; if I was gullible enough, I’d definitely choose to believe it. Plus this city supposedly had a rough start, didn’t have much going for it despite how big it was, and now the whole world’s talking about it. If it were up to me, I’d be milking this thing for all it’s worth, too.”

The class bell rang and Rei jogged back to class.

“Rei.”

“Yeah?” He turned.

“Crackers,” Natsuya held them out.

“Right!” Rei pouted and met him halfway.

Rei practically ran back to his class, greeting his students as he made it a second before they did, Natsuya struggled not to burst into hysterics. He finally turned to go to his office when he caught the very last student to arrive to class: a boy with dark teal hair, suspiciously missing a bag or notebook of any kind.

Natsuya breathed out hotly, but continued towards his office. He’d have to deal with his little brother later.


	2. Part of Our World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin is integrated further into life with the Samezuka clan and Rei discovers that Iwatobi lives up to its reputation.

Despite how relaxed he looked, with his wings draped over his shoulders, a hand resting on his hip, Seijurou could command the coalition of gargoyles before him in an instant. One by one, the Samezuka clan gathered on the wide rooftop of the office building, on a quieter street some blocks away from the intensity of the shopping district, where Seij could hear himself think.

Rin had awakened from his stone sleep and followed Aiichiro to the roof. Technically being a newcomer, he took a seat next to Seijurou, deciding it was best to be near the leader, learn what he could about the way the clan operated under his rule. So far, he seemed to run it as nonchalantly as Toraichi, letting the clan come and go as they please, acting as the voice of reason when personal disputes came up or giving advice when asked. He was like everyone’s big brother rather than their leader.

Seijurou looked over a small notepad, the clan before him looking tired and bored; clearly the “hard work” he’d told Rin about wasn’t that hard if the clan was this laid back about it.

During his week back in clan, Rin had been on his feet from sunset to sunrise, mostly with Aiichiro’s help, being shown all that had changed about the city and introducing him to some of the newer faces of the clan, really helping him integrate himself back into his birthplace. 

“Aii, is that everybody?” Seijurou said, glancing up from skimming his notepad.

They grey-blue gargoyle, kneeling close by, nodded confidently. “Yes, all present.”

“Alright, then: listen up, everyone!” Within seconds, the clan’s hushed murmurs fell into dead silence. “Shouta, Takuya, you two are with me on supply duty; we don’t need much, just some water to get us through the week. The rest of you, break off into your usual teams of two or three, you’re on patrol tonight. Be vigilant, watch each other’s backs; understood?”

The clan gave a collective “Yes.”

“Also, for those of you who don’t know, we have a semi-newcomer with us—stand up, Stripes!”

“Stripes—?” Rin groaned and scratched the back of his head, stood and faced the clan.

“This is Rin, he’s returning to us from an extended stay with the island clan; make him feel welcome and show him the ropes!”

He remembered a lot of faces from the clan, and vice versa, but there were definitely plenty he didn’t know, others newcomers that must have shown up during his absence. Normally crowds didn’t make Rin nervous, but he felt a tad more self-conscious when a group of young gargoyles started pointing in his direction and giggling amongst themselves.

“Glad to be back.” Rin bowed his head to the clan.

“Alright, get to it! Once you’re done, you’re all free to do as you please, but be back at your roosts no later than an hour before sun-up! Disperse!”

The clan broke into their respective teams, leaving the rooftop almost empty in no time.

“Aiichiro, I want Rin with your group,” Seijurou said, unfolding his wings and jumping off the roof.

 

“Patrol,” Rin found out, was a large-scale operation where the entire clan panned out to different parts of the city in small groups to keep an eye out for anything that could potentially harm or help them. Buildings and streets are checked for cameras, and the outskirts of the city were scanned for rogues.

Aiichiro’s group—which consisted of Rin and Kazuki—were stationed in a neighborhood close to the highways. They showed Rin where the cameras were and noted that no new ones had been installed.

“How often do you guys go on patrol?” Rin asked, as the three of them headed back to Samezuka.

“Roughly once a month,” Kazuki explained.

“Seems a little pointless, doesn’t it? There’s no way we’re going to avoid being seen completely, no matter how many cameras we find.”

“That’s true,” said Aiichiro. “And you’ve been on the island for over a decade, technology’s advanced enough that even the cheap cameras can have decent picture quality.”

“Seijurou doesn’t strike me as the type to hide.”

“He’s not. I think he asks us to do this to make some of us feel better, but he definitely thinks we should integrate ourselves more into human society. He understands it’s a process, nothing is going to happen overnight; that’s why we’re—”

A scream broke the silence. The blood in Rin’s veins froze and he practically stopped in midair. It was woman and she sounded like she was in trouble. Aiichiro and Kazuki veered off in the direction of the scream, Rin following close behind, wary, but trusting of his rookery brothers.

They landed above a convenience store just as a woman wearing all black took off with a purse, its original owner screaming down the street until the thief took off down an alleyway.

“Kazuki!” Aiichiro called out.

“I’m on it!” Kazuki was already leaping off the next building to cut the thief off by the time the others caught up.

Rin’s racing heart steadied for a second, confused at the smirk on Kazuki’s face as he leapt off the roof and into the street, landing right in front of the thief with a deep hiss.

The woman skidded to a halt as the gargoyle towered over her. He barely had time to raise a clawed hand before she dropped the purse and took off into the opposite direction.

Aiichiro and Rin clung to the side of the building, half-hidden by shadows, as Kazuki picked up the purse off the ground and brushed the dust off it. The purse’s owner rounded the corner moments later. Kazuki folded his wings across his chest and held his arms up, purse clearly on display. The woman stiffened, her eyes furiously darting between her purse and the creature holding it. The hairs on the back of Rin’s neck bristled, but Aiichiro held up a hand.

“You’re alright, I’m not here to hurt you,” Kazuki stayed perfectly still, knowing a single step would send the woman flying in the other direction. “Here.” He placed the purse on the sidewalk and backed away from it.

The woman took several seconds to assess the situation and it seemed like hours before she finally took a nervous step forward. For her every one, Kazuki took two or more back, until eventually she reached out her hand to grab her purse, keeping her eyes locked on the gargoyle who was practically kneeling halfway down the street.

Then Rin saw something that made his heart race faster than anything else he’d witnessed that night; the woman’s eyes softened and she smiled at Kazuki. She was still tense and shaking, but smiling, and somehow found the breath within her to whisper out a “thank you” before she walked off into the night, her purse clutched to her chest like life support.

Once she was out of sight, Kazuki unfolded his wings and let out a low sigh. Aiichiro and Rin joined him on the street, Rin speeding ahead.

“You idiot, she could have had a weapon!” Rin snarled in his face.

“I think both of them were too scared to use them, even if they did,” Kazuki snickered apologetically.

“Kazuki’s the fastest out of all of us and one of the most level-headed, I wouldn’t have made the call if I didn’t think it was safe,” Aiichiro said, stepping up in between them.

And that’s when it hit him. Kazuki didn’t have to step in, didn’t have to help that woman. He took a chance and she didn’t run.

“This is part of patrol,” Rin’s eyes grew wide. “You’re showing yourselves to them on purpose.”

“That’s what I was saying before: we’re trying to prove to the humans that we’re not here to hurt them, we want to help, because this is our home as much as theirs.”

“When did Samezuka start actively helping humans?”

“A few years after you left. We’ve had members here and there help sometimes, but we’re deliberately keeping an eye out for trouble now, seeing what we can do,” Aiichiro continued. “We keep tabs on neighborhoods that tend to have a higher crime rate and scan those areas while on patrol. As you can guess, the areas surrounding Samezuka are pretty high on the list.”

“We still get plenty of humans who scream in terror at the first sight of us, but sometimes it feels worth it for the few that don’t, you know? Like even if it’s slow, it’s progress,” Kazuki said.

Rin’s dream after Toraichi died was to keep out of the shadows, not to run, not to hide, but to be present, be helpful, fight if you have to.

Aiichiro and Kazuki told him about prominent surveillance cameras they knew about on the way home, but he didn’t care. Let them catch him, let his video broadcast as clear as Toraichi’s; he wanted the humans to know he was there, that he existed, that he wasn’t going anywhere.

 

“Good, you’re back; find anything?” Seijurou asked loading water bottles into large wooden crate.

“Nothing new in terms of surveillance on our end, but Kazuki caught a thief and the owner was grateful,” Aiichiro reported.

“Thank you, good work! What’d you think, Stripes?”

“Honestly, it makes me hopeful, like we’re heading in the right direction,” said Rin. “Aii said you all started doing this actively a few years back, was it your idea?”

“Actually, it was Toraichi’s, I just adjusted it so we’re doing it in groups on a more routine schedule, helps keep everyone organized and safe.” He closed the crate and proudly put his hands on his hips. “Good work, you’re all free for the rest of the night.”

Kazuki broke off to join Takuya, Aiichiro turned to ask Rin if he wanted to go sightseeing again, but he was already gone.

***

Nightwatch Inc. was a modest two-story building, tucked slightly out of reach of the city proper, down a wooded trail. With its wide windows, large doorways and cozy lobby, the place reminded Rei of an inn more than a tourist site.

Momo, one the more enthusiastic students, bounced forward and almost flung the door open before Rei called out to him to wait and he was blocked by a tall, slender man with silver hair and welcoming green eyes behind a sleek pair of glasses.

“Welcome to Nightwatch! I’m Nao Serizawa, please, right this way,” the man stepped to the side, and held a hand out to welcome Momo and everyone else in.

Nao led them through the hallways, where, aligning the walls, were photos of blobs or smudges that appeared to have somewhat human forms. Torn newspaper clippings were framed with dramatic headlines of monsters and creatures. Rei looked at them skeptically, but was relieved to hear some excited whispers from his students, whom he was under the impression were hard—nay, impossible—to impress (save for one, of course).

Nao introduced the staff when they walked by on their way to complete their tasks, some of them seeming unusually shy, but humble, before continuing to a small room with rows of chairs and a white board on the wall.

It was very small, enough so that the faculty sacrificed their seats for the remaining students. The walls were a warm tan color like the rest of the building, the blinds open to let the sunlight in.

“So, has anyone here heard of us before?” Nao asked, placing his hands against the desk behind him.

“I have!” Momo yapped loudly, answering before his hand could make it all the way in the air. Nao nodded in his direction to continue. “You’re a research facility that specializes in supernatural sightings around Iwatobi!”

“Correct—”

“And your business grew practically overnight after that really convincing video came out, you know, the one where that gargoyle-looking creature was supposedly killed, but no one really knows for sure, especially because no one’s come up with a body or anything and—”

“Yes, thank you, Momotarou, was it?”

“Just Momo is fine!”

Nao quietly chuckled. “Momo, then. Thank you, I honestly appreciate how much you seem to know. It’s true, we’re a research facility, and we focus on the idea that something else is out there. We gather what we can from hearsay and our own investigations and present it here, in the hopes that we can introduce people to this world in a civil manner.”

“So basically,” Asahi—a tall student with fiery red hair that splayed in every direction—said, “you’re putting on a show.”

“A show?”

“Yeah, like, you sell the idea of monsters and ghosts or whatever and get to sell lots of t-shirts and stuff.”

“We rely on information more than showmanship, but if you believe we’re a show, I can only hope we’re a convincing one.”

Nao went on the briefly talk about the beginnings of Iwatobi and how monster myths and the boom in technology over the years helped it grow, and how he utilized them to grow this business out of his own home. Afterwards, they entered a room with a multitude of screens, which played footage of the supposed sightings around Iwatobi and the students busied themselves with trying to decipher which ones were clear hoaxes. Nao stepped to the side, temporarily relieved of his tour guide duties, “you must be Ryugazaki; Natsuya told me a bit about you.”

“Good things, I hope, and please, call me Rei; nice to meet you.”

Nao’s handshake was nowhere near as forceful as Natsuya’s, but nonetheless confident. “Likewise.”

“Not to impede your work or anything, but this place should be a little bit more…spooky, shouldn’t it?”

“Spooky?”

“Well, yes, to keep up with the gimmick and all that—I don’t usually think of spacious natural hues when I imagine monsters.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Rei, but I’m here to intrigue people, not scare them.”

Rei—convinced Nao was a little more convinced of the supernatural then he let on—turned his attention back to his students. Skimming to make sure everyone was behaving, Rei noticed a door with a heavy padlock on it off in a corner of the building, which he surmised must lead up to the part of the house Nao lived in.

Across the room, Ikuya and Asahi glanced at one TV that showed a shadow jumping from one building to another.

“Cool, right?” Momo jumped out of nowhere before Ikuya could make his escape.

“I guess.”

“Totally! It’s one of the reasons I insisted going to school here! You hear about this kind of stuff, but this city is the first with real proof!”

“If you’re into all this.”

 

The tour ended with Nao showing the class a number of items with large dents and deep scratched embedded in them, the most impressive being the ruined car door. Momo practically had stars in his eyes and even Ikuya uncrossed his arms. Nao asked if there were any questions, and he looked up expectantly at the hand that flew up to ask the inevitable one:

“How come you don’t show the video here?” Momo asked.

“I find it too graphic. Plus, it’s just as easily accessible online or all over Samezuka.”

“I thought you were into providing evidence, seems just as plausible as anything else here,” Asahi said. Ikuya nudged him.

“We know there were at least three men involved, as was whatever or whoever they think they caught on camera, they had firearms and at least one person was hurt; regardless if it shows a real creature or not, someone was seriously injured that night and we’re not in the business of displaying and selling assault.”

“What if it’s a hoax?”

“What if it’s not?”

At the end of the day, the students filed back onto the bus, with Nao and some of his staff seeing them to the front.

They were immediately dismissed from school after retrieving their belongings, and Rei noticed Natsuya, also with most of the other faculty members, were gone as he waded back to his office. Fortunately, he didn’t have to stay too late, just file some paperwork so he wouldn’t have to deal with it in the morning.

It was early night by the time he left, the sun leaving a pink hue above the skyline.

Today wasn’t so bad, he thought.

Rei packed his stuff and made his way to his car parked out front. He looked up to catch the pink in the sky turn into a deep purple. In between two buildings, momentarily blocking the early stars, three shadows jumped across the sky and vanished before Rei had time to scrunch his eyebrow together and blink. He shook his head and turned his car on, giving one last look to the sky before he drove home; clearly the trip proved more effective than he thought.

***

Classes resumed as normal after the trip, and Rei spent the next few days really extending his teaching arm. Nao’s trip taught him and thing or two about how to talk to his students, not to just lecture them, but question and challenge them. Sure, they weren’t always as enthusiastic about school as he would like, but he found they worked better when they were actually engaged rather than repeating words from a textbook.

“Hey, Rei, just checking in on ya’!” Natsuya poked his head around the corner.

“Hey, Natsuya, how’s it going?”

“Fine, I guess. Listen, I wanted to ask you something, if it’s not too much trouble?”

“Of course.”

“How’s Ikuya been? Like, how’re his grades?”

“I’m usually not supposed to—,” Ikuya…Ikuya Kirishima…dark teal hair, usually in a hoodie, and eyes an identical shade of brown as the counselor. “You’re his father??”

“What? Oh, no! He’s my brother, there’s a twelve-year age gap, so thank you for the admitting how old I look.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t really think—I mean, you look amazing—I just—”

Natsuya held up and hand and snickered. “I’m messing with you.”

“Well, his grades have been fine, average; he hasn’t missed any assignments, though sometimes he comes to class unprepared or skips class altogether. I confronted him about it the other day, but he gave me some nonsense answer about a doctor’s appointment. He’s not doing badly in school, so I wasn’t sure what else I could do except keep an eye on him.”

“Well, that’s actually the reason I’m down here. I was hoping to catch him after school, but I think he’s already left.”

“Is he alright?”

“Tell you the truth, he’s been kind of distant lately, he doesn’t open up to me, and I’m not sure how to convince him to do so, if I even should—I’m not his father, and I can’t be his guidance counselor, either. I think he’s acting out.”

“Something happen?”

Natsuya’s chest swelled.

“He…we came from a not-so-great home and it’s only recently that I was able to get custody of him. I think he’s adjusting to life with me as his guardian, plus living with Nao and being in the city; it’s a lot.”

“I’m sorry...if there’s anything I can do for him, please let me know.”

“Yeah…thank you, Rei. I didn’t mean to dump all this on you, I’m just worried about him, you know?”

Rei nodded.

“Hey, listen, I didn’t mean to take up all your office time, I’ll let you get back to it. Thanks again, Ryugazaki, I appreciate it.”

It was close to nightfall when Rei finally let himself leave his desk. He reached his stack of papers just as a thought came to him and he hastily grabbed all his things and ran outside.

He burst through the doors, the sky was almost the exact same pink-purple color it had been before. The city started to match the sky, stars and lights flickering to life as night came. Rei huffed out a heavy breath. “Maybe I should go home sooner, get some r—”

The three shadows from before came back, but this time they were clear, no longer resembling the blurs on Nao’s wall. They were flying, solid creatures, just as big—bigger?—than a human and very, unmistakably real.

Rei shook his head, they were still here. He blinked. Still there, flying further away. He cleaned his glasses, looked up, saw nothing. They were in sight for two seconds but Rei had seen them. He wasn’t the type to hallucinate from restlessness.

Rei drove home in a daze, almost forgetting his paperwork on top of his car.

***

Apparently a good night’s sleep didn’t do much for Rei. He woke up a little earlier than usual, and after a short deliberation between his usual, logical thinking and the crazy idea that monsters were real, he decided he’d put the idea to rest himself. He packed a spare set of clothes and a large thermal mug for tonight.

Classes were a bit of a blur, but none of his students were rowdy today, so he didn’t have to exhaust whatever semblance of sanity he had left. He noticed Ikuya was in class today—sans a notebook again, but at least paying attention.

Rei left school to run some local errands before heading back at sunset. His thankfulness for the lot being empty was quickly overshadowed by anxiety. He looked at the now full coffee thermal and the pile of clothes he’d change into later.

He should just go home…

He closed the car door behind him and found the hardest part of his plan was just finding the ladder that led up to the roof. When he eventually found it, the purples had long since disappeared from the sky and that anxiety started to creep in again. “Too late now, Rei,” he muttered, making his way to the roof and settling down. He propped himself with his back against the ledge, facing the same way he was last night. Minutes ticked by and he felt very self-conscious being alone on the roof in the middle of the night. The surrounding buildings were far and high enough that it’s likely no one could see him unless they were really looking, but it suddenly dawned on him that he was technically trespassing.

He looked at his watch—just past seven. Sleep overtook him around eleven.

***

Rei woke up from the worst sleep of his life to date; his neck hurt from craning it, he was chilly from (stupidly) not bringing a blanket, his coffee was cold, it was dark, and he was feeling sillier than ever. He’d have to hand it to Nao, though, maybe something about this city did play tricks on you.

It wasn’t until he stretched out the aches in his back that he realized that it wasn’t indecent sleep that woke him, but voices.

Up in the sky, close enough to the school that it was impossible to determine the forms as anything but living, breathing—apparently flying—beings, were three gargoyles. Nagisa was teasing Makoto enough to make him blush, with Haruka bringing up the rear, ignoring them both.

Rei tripped as he scrambled to his feet, willing his brain to remember how to form and project sentences.

“Hey, wait—!” Rei reached out his hand, maybe in an attempt to help propel his voice. He almost choked on his words, just waking up and trying to piece together the life-altering fact that gargoyles were real.

Nagisa suddenly broke off his own sentence, catching Rei’s cry just as it slumped into a mess of words and sharp breaths. He saw the teacher stumbling on the rooftop, frantically trying to get closer to them, however feeble that feat was. “We’ve been spotted, we have to go!”

Makoto was smart and scared enough not to turn, but he knew curious Haruka would, so he quickly snatched him by the arm and let the wind guide them into a nearby building canyon, so they were out of sight.

“No, wait, please! I don’t mean you any harm, I just want to talk—wait!”

Goosebumps formed along Nagisa’s body as he briefly caught eyes with the human, still a stumbling mess, eyes pleading. Had he the leisure of time, Nagisa probably would have heard the human out; he was loud and frantic, but he didn’t seem dangerous. But the sun was close to rising and he didn’t have much time to mull it over, as Makoto came back and shooed him into the safety of the buildings.

Rei was hunched over the school railing, staring up blankly. It was minutes before he realized he was shaking, half an hour before he moved, and a few more minutes after that when he saw the sliver of bright peachy gold light break over the horizon.

 

Rei came out of the restroom, changed into his new set of clothes after a pathetic attempt at getting washed up in the sink—not that any amount of water splashed on his face was going to make Rei look any less disheveled than he did.

He felt bad for his students, so he declared today a catch-up day for them to finish any outstanding assignments from his or any other class, while he tried desperately to focus on grading tests. He felt bad, especially for Ikuya, whom he’d just made a promise he’d do all he could for. His students could suffer through a day without class lectures; he just discovered a mythical species was real—this was game-changing, world-changing, life-changing. A big part of this city was built on the idea that gargoyles existed…

How many people knew the truth? That silver-haired eclectic had to, but how much would he let on?

Rei would have been horrified to know how manic he looked, hunched over his papers with a tense hand raking his hair, his pencil scratching the paper’s surface just a little too hard. He knew Natsuya would come by later to check on him, so he had to collect himself enough to come off as an actual human being, fast.

“Gee, you think Mr. Ryugazaki’s ok?” Momo glanced up from doodling a very happy looking otter in the corner of his notebook.

Ikuya lifted a pensive eyebrow to the kid sitting in front of him when he realized who he was talking to. “Who?”

“Our teacher,” Momo nodded to the front of the room. “Do you think he’s ok?”

“I don’t think that guy was ever ok, always seems nervous.”

“Hey, you’re the new kid, right? You didn’t grow up around here—I think I talked to you on the trip. I’m Momotarou Mikoshiba, call me Momo!”

It was hard to pretend to ignore him when his grinning face was only inches away. “Ikuya.”

After class, Ikuya practically ran down the hallway, dodging Natsuya—on his way to say hi to Rei—by seconds. He was less than enthusiastic to see Momo trailing behind him like a newly hatched duckling.

“Where’re you heading? Maybe we have class in the same direction,” Momo said.

“I don’t think so,” Ikuya said, continuing down the hallway even after passing the last classroom.

Momo stalled when Ikuya walked by the last classroom and made for the front door.

“You’re not going to class?”

“See you later, Momo,” Ikuya gave a passive wave of his hand as he pushed open the door, where Asahi was waiting in the driver’s seat of a car covered in chipped paint.

The car roared to life and sped away from the school as the door slowly shut behind him.


	3. See You in Samezuka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Iwatobis pay Rin a visit, Nat knocks some sense into Rei, and the Sasabe High boys decide to make a little trip.

The island hummed with the low, steady buzz of fireflies and distant waves crashing against the shore. The clan woke up from a day’s sleep and was lazing about the woods, most of them entertaining themselves in its dense center, covered by thick foliage, the moonlight gleaming through the treetops in thin silver ribbons.

Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa secluded themselves by the cliffsside, the latter pacing around while Haruka sat cross-legged on a boulder and Makoto leaned against it next to him, his arms crossed in front of him and his wings crossed over his shoulders. Makoto broke the silence with a sharp exhale.

“Makoto…?” Haruka placed a hand on Makoto’s shoulder.

Makoto let some of the tension out of his body from the touch. “Does anyone else feel off?”

“Yeah,” Haruka watched Nagisa walk back and forth idly, something he did when his mind was racing. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a human that close before.”

“It’s weird though,” Nagisa stopped. “What kind of person hangs around on a rooftop right before sun-up?”

“The same kind that waits around for gargoyles who cut it close and are still out right before sun-up, I knew we shouldn’t have gone out so late,” Makoto said.

“Maybe…I think I heard him shout something, I couldn’t really make out what it was. He sounded—I don’t know…desperate?”

“Desperate to get a good look at us and shoot us out of the sky. Makoto’s right, Nagisa, we shouldn’t have cut it so close.”

Shadows passed over the trio as the leaders made their route around the island, keeping an eye on their clan and their home. Following close behind them was a band of younger gargoyles, Gou being the youngest among them. She broke off from the coalition, joined the trio, and they quickly tried to hide their nervous demeanor.

Gou took a seat next to Haruka, leaning in like she was waiting for a story. “What’s going on, you three? You’re not fooling anyone.”

Nagisa tugged his arms behind his back innocently. “Hi, G—”

“Kou.”

“How was patrol, Kou?” Makoto asked flatly, choosing not to hide his discomfort but waiting until pleasantries were out of the way until he disclosed them.

“Fine. There’s only so much you can expect when you circle the same island all the time, though.”

“Miyako wasn’t with you this time?”

“She’s helping watch the kids today, didn’t feel like gliding around, but she’s been in a bit of slump lately. Now stop stalling, what happened? You all look sick, it’s starting to make me worry.” Her breath stilled. “Is Rin—”

“No, no, it’s nothing to do with Rin,” Makoto held his hands up apologetically. “We saw a human a few nights ago, or rather, he saw us.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I barely caught a glimpse of him, but Nagisa did.”

“The more I think about it,” Nagisa began, “the more I’m sure he was trying to talk to us—like, actually talk. I don’t think he meant any harm.”

“Well, not all humans do, like the ones over at Nightwatch.”

“Yeah, but those humans are either part fae or grew up around them,” said Haruka.

“What do you think he wanted?” Gou asked.

“Not sure. Even if we wanted to, we didn’t have time to figure it out; the last thing we need is to end up stuck as stone in the middle of the city.”

“Listen, we all have the rest of the night off, and we’ve got time, why don’t we visit Rin in Samezuka? It’ll help clear our minds,” Nagisa said, standing up.

“Good idea! Count me in!” Gou cheerfully jumped up and practically ran to the cliffside.

Haruka found Makoto’s hand right before they took off. Despite making the trip multiple times a month, Makoto always tensed up before going over the water. The four gargoyles adjusted themselves on the cliffside, stretching out and flexing their wings, before making the flight across the water to get to the city proper. 

 

Seijurou’s face lit up as the four of them approached the rooftop. Since their move to the island, visits from the sister clan were rare.

“Well, well, I’m surprised to see you guys all the way out here,” he said, as the four of them landed. “How’s the island? Everyone ok?”

“It’s fine, quiet as usual.” Gou said.

Seijurou nodded. “You guys must be here for Rin. He’s on patrol but he should be here in a se—”

“Rin!” Gou almost slammed into her brother hard enough to knock him off the ledge. The other three quickly joined in and Rin had to coax them down between winded laughs.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to see you!” Nagisa bounced forward.

“As long as patrol’s done, you’re free for the rest of the night; good to see you guys, again, give Hiro and Tachi my best,” Seijurou waved them off.

The boardwalk Rin lead the Iwatobi gargoyles to was on the edge of the park they used to play in as kids. It was lined with street lamps that spanned for miles in either direction, the pathway broken every few feet by pristine benches overlooking the water. Beyond the trees lay the city’s concrete canyons.

They settled on a collection of flat rocks embedded in a small hill, where they could spread their wings, lay on the ground and overlook the water comfortably. Rin figured they needed the relaxing space, considering how tight-lipped they looked after they were done beaming from seeing him.

“So, are you guys going to tell me what happened, or am I going to have to guess all night?” Rin asked, resting his head on his hands, scanning the Iwatobis for whomever would break first.

“We were spotted by a human,” Makoto started. 

“Caught us right out in the open!” Nagisa finally blurted out.

Rin frowned. “That’s it?”

“I know we’re probably making a bigger deal out of this then we should, but I can’t remember the last time we were that close to one that directly saw us. It just left us a little shaken up,” Makoto said.

“You shouldn’t worry too much about it,” Rin softened his tone. “Did he seem threatening?”

“No…I don’t think so? Nagisa got a decent look at him, I just saw a glimpse.”

“I mean, it was kind of hard to tell, even I didn’t look at him for long, but he seemed more desperate than anything else. I don’t think I’d call him threatening, just loud and kind of tired. To tell you the truth…,” Nagisa’s voice trailed off, almost into a whisper, “I think I’d like to meet him again, just to hear him out.”

Nagisa felt the Iwatobis stiffen, their knack for trouble and need for exploration allowing the idea to swirl in their minds, but quickly hide behind a long-ingrained idea that the city and its human inhabitants are ten times the trouble they’re worth. He used Rin’s lack of reaction as reassurance that what he was thinking wasn’t completely crazy.

“If you come across him again, I think you should give it a try,” Rin said, and Makoto looked at him like he was crazy. Haru and Gou just kind of sat with their mouths slightly agape; of course the gargoyle who left his home to live in the heart of city would say something like that. Nagisa beamed, to his own surprise.

“The Samezuka clan has been actively helping humans for the last few years, showing themselves; it doesn’t always work out, but when it does, it’s one step closer to feeling like a part of this city instead of hiding from it.”

“You’re showing yourself to humans, on purpose?” Makoto sprang up. “Rin, you’re intentionally putting your life on the line?”

“I already do just by living here, might as well make it count.”

“Yes, but—”

“Rin!” The group watched as Takuya landed on the park trail. “Sorry to interrupt, guys; Seijurou wants all of us back, we think we found something.”

“Good news?”

He gave a pensive glance at the Iwatobis. “Might be rogues, might just be some of our own causing trouble.”

“Okay,” Rin stood up, straightened himself out. “You guys should get going. We’ll talk more next time you visit.”

“Should we go with you?” Gou asked.

“No, it might not be a big deal; you guys go home, it’s almost morning.”

Makoto and Nagisa exchanged glances as Rin left with Takuya, Makoto’s almost sickly grimace a stark contrast to Nagisa’s mischievous smile. The little seed of an idea that was passively floating in Nagisa’s brain had been firmly planted, thanks to Rin’s prodding, and Makoto knew there was no way to uproot it.

 

Once the Iwatobis were gone, Takuya led Rin back into the city. It wasn’t until they glided past the Samezuka district that Rin noticed how stiff Takuya was, despite being midflight.

“What’s going on?” Rin asked.

“We’re not sure yet.”

They finally came across Seijurou and the rest of the clan in a neighborhood not too far from Samezuka. Everyone was perched on rooftops and ledges, looking over a store that had been torn apart, the windows shattered, glass littering the pavement. Parked just in front of it was a car covered in deep claw marks, the doors smashed in so far they were irreplaceable. Rin and Takuya landed next to Seijurou.

Rin turned to Takuya quizzically. “There’s no way some of our own did this.”

“Not a chance, I just said that so when the Iwatobis pass it along to Hiro and Tachi, they don’t start a panic.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Seijurou said, one arm clutched across his abs, supporting the other one propped up against his chin. His brows were furrowed, but his eyes were scanning the whole scene, taking in every detail. “The Iwatobis don’t like city living but they aren’t stupid. If there’s a problem, it’s only fair they know.”

“I’m sorry, Seij, I should have asked you first.”

“Don’t worry about it, right now we should be focusing on finding these rogues and figuring out what they want.”

“Maybe they’re desperate,” Aiichiro said.

“I’d consider ‘desperate’ if they only tore up the store, but why destroy the car? I think they’re trying to intimidate us.”

“So what do we do? None of us have seen any rogues, we don’t know where they are, how many there are, what their plan is, if they even have one...,” Rin said.

“We’re not going to let a bunch of rowdy newcomers ruin what we’re trying to build here. If they need our help, we will offer it, but if they’ve come to start trouble, then they’ve found it.”

***

It was close to sun-up by the time the Iwatobis made it home. They made their way inland, where a majority of the clan decided to sleep during the day, and found Hiro, Tachi and some of their friends and advisors making the rounds, making sure everyone was comfortable and accounted for.

“Hiro, Tachi—” Makoto approached them, as Haruka, Nagisa and Gou started for a large tree they frequented during the day, but stopped short to wait for him.

“Ah, you’re back!” Miyako, who was nearby talking to an elder, bounded in between the leaders and Makoto, just enough to make him stagger back. “Is Rin—?”

“Miyako.” Hiro placed a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to ease her enough that Makoto no longer found it necessary to lean back.

The red gargoyle opened her mouth but didn’t say anything, she stepped back and nodded her head in apology. Makoto was about to absolve her, but both leaders looked at him, waiting for him to speak and that suddenly seemed more pressing.

“Right—um, the Samezuka clan thinks there might be rogues in the city.”

“They have always been known to take in rogues; it’s been awhile since any have stumbled into the city, but given the way things are growing I guess it makes sense that newcomers are pouring in again. Who told you this?”

“Takuya; he came to get Rin per Seijurou’s request, said they found something. I wouldn’t think much of it, but he said Seijurou wanted everyone gathered back and sounded kind of urgent about it.”

Hiro tapped his claw against his lips. “Samezuka is a tough clan, they don’t rally for nothing. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Thank you for telling us. Samezuka may be able to handle it, but it’s good to know in case we have to keep our guard up. If you come across Rin before I speak to Seijurou, feel free to pass on the message that the island clan will offer help should they ever need it.”

Makoto nodded as the leaders stepped aside to finish making their rounds. Miyako stepped forward and Makoto looked at her solemnly. She wasn’t hysterical, but definitely flustered. “Makoto, Rin, is he—?”

“Rin is fine, Miyako,” Makoto placed a hand on hers. “He sends his best.”

She breathed out a smooth stream of air through her nostrils, releasing just a little bit of the tension that coiled tightly throughout her body since the day her mate died and only constricted when her son left. She gave a forlorn look towards Gou, who gave a weak half smile back, and tapped Makoto’s hand to tell him it was ok to go.

By the time Makoto and the others made it to their tree, the pink light of the sun was just peaking through the leaves.

“Sorry, I hate seeing her like that,” Makoto nodded his head at Gou.

“It’s okay, I just wish she wouldn’t keep picking favorites.”

“Well, Rin is her son,” Haruka said.

“The clan is supposed to treat and raise all of the next generation like their own, you’re all her sons; I understand that she worries about Rin because he left, but I don’t see her fretting so much over Kisumi, and she plays the favorites card with me, too. Sometimes I feel like I should go to the city, too, just to get away from the special treatment.”

The Iwatobi trio dropped their heads a little and Gou couldn’t help but laugh.

“Aww, glad you guys would miss me so much!”

They laughed just as the sun came up and incased them in stone sleep.

***

Rei was more than passed out from another long, disappointing night on the school’s roof. He actually had the wherewithal to go home and sleep at some point, but he was still running on only three hours of sleep.

Papers that he hadn’t organized properly were pushed every which-way, as his tired arms searched for something more comfortable than the hard, cold surface of his desk. Natsuya’s knocking on the door normally would have made him jump out of skin, but he was too tired to even feel embarrassed.

“Ryugazaki, I—wow.”

Rei slogged his head off the desk, a piece of paper following him as it wedged between his glasses and partially stuck to his forehead. He made a feeble attempt to remove it, but the movement was so flimsy it was almost less pathetic to keep it in place. “Morning, Natsuya.”

Natsuya shut the door behind him and put a hand on Rei’s desk, leaning into him. “What happened to you, Ryugazaki, you going through a break-up or something?”

“No, nothing—” Rei yawned loudly “Oh, excuse me—nothing like that.”

Rei squinted his eyes open just enough to focus and meet Natsuya’s calculated, intelligent eyes that Rei knew he was doomed to succumb too sooner or later. He knew Nat knew he was lying from the get-go, but he was nice enough not to pry. Or maybe Rei was too tired to care, it didn’t really matter.

“Remember a few days ago, when I asked what you thought about this city being…different?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been up the past nights wanting to...prove it, I guess.”

Natsuya sat in the chair and settled himself, still leaning forward. “Prove…what?”

“I think…” Rei sighed. Here goes the last shred of my reputation. “The video that’s been circulating, the myths…I think they’re real.”

“You think…they’re real?”

Rei slumped back in his chair, rubbed his eyes, and inflated. He was still too out of it to properly gauge Natsuya’s expression, but he felt like he was one sentence away from being thrown in the mental ward.

“Believe me, I know how it sounds. If the roles were reversed, I’d probably think you were crazy, but I know I saw something, something that I’d never seen before. I had to figure out what it was.”

Rei’s eyes bolted open when Natsuya let out a genuine laugh. “I knew I liked you, Ryugazaki.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You’ve been staying up late for that?”

“Well…yes. I know it sounds silly, but—”

“Rei, my fiancée runs an entire facility dedicated to finding out if that stuff is real, most of this city eats that stuff up like candy. I don’t care if you want to conduct some experiments or whatever, I’m just worried that you’re losing sleep trying to do it. You’re not doing yourself, or your students, or your job any favors.”

“You’re right. I feel so silly now, saying it out loud…”

“Don’t. You’re dedicated and you’re crazy, we could use some that around here,” Natsuya let out another charming laugh. “Listen, I’m going to get us some shitty coffee from the cafeteria, you just spruce yourself up and go to class.”

Rei anticipated that cup of coffee like it was the most precious thing in the world. He still felt sluggish, but at least he was attentive enough to pick his head up and keep his eyes open as his students slowly filed into class.

Ikuya tip-toed to the door, peaked inside, and immediately made a roundabout back down the hallway.

“Hey! Hey, wait, where are you going?” said Momo, quickly in pursuit.

“Stop following me.”

“Come on, Ikuya, I know Mr. Rugazaki’s class isn’t your favorite, but it’s not a good idea to keep skipping.”

“You’re skipping by following me.”

“I’m making a sacrifice, I don’t want to see you get in tr—”

Natsuya rounded the corner with two lukewarm cups of coffee, Momo almost screamed.

“Ikuya? Momo?” Natsuya’s gaze darted between the two of them until it locked firmly on Ikuya. “Shouldn’t you two be in class right now?”

Ikuya didn’ bother to answer, just swerved around his brother. Momo sheepishly stayed in place, only taking miniscule steps forward when Natsuya wasn’t looking directly at him.

“Ikuya—!” Natsuya barked.

“If your boyfriend can’t bother to stay awake for his own job, why should I care about showing up? I’ll go to class tomorrow.”

Natsuya’s shoulders slumped. His gaze followed Momo—and his apologetic grin—as he slinked past him and continued to follow Ikuya down the hallway. He didn’t call after them, and instead made his way back to Rei’s class, where he felt a little relieved seeing Rei standing up and encaging with his students (even if the bags under his eyes gave away how close he was to collapsing).

 

Momo felt incredibly guilty as he followed Ikuya out of the building and down the block. Every step was a little heavier, but Momo snapped out of it when he heard Ikuya clicking away at his phone. “Who’re you texting?”

“Asahi.”

“That guy from the other day, with the car?”

Ikuya didn’t answer.

Momo gave a fleeting look back at the school as they went down another block, until the building was out of sight.

At the end of the street, Asahi, a tall boy with fiery red hair and a captivating smile, was parked under a tree and leaning against his car’s hood. He glanced away from his phone and lifted his shades, “Who’s this?”

“Classmate.”

“Hey,” Asahi nodded.

“Oh, uh, hi,” Momo said.

“What’s that?” Ikuya nodded to Asahi’s phone, which was making a barrage of noises.

“That clip they keep showing off in Samezuka, this shit is crazy.”

Ikuya leaned in to watch, Momo scuttled his way in between them.

The three of them watched as the camera shook violently, the cries of at least three men yelling out a string of grunts and profanities, as the creature—big, winged?—came into view. A horrible cacophony of gunshots rang out—they were a lot less dramatic then they sounded in the movies, which in a way made them sound a lot more threatening—a shout, an unnatural, primal noise, and then a very eerie silence as the footage abruptly stopped. Asahi played it again, since it was short and usually required at least three viewings to even begin to figure out what was going on. Even Ikuya and Asahi, who were pretending to look unconvinced, couldn’t stop the hair on their back of their necks from rising. Momo was about to step away, feeling uneasy, but his eyes narrowed at something.

“I think I know that place.”

“What place?” Asahi asked.

“In the video.”

“Momo, how can you see anything? It’s practically pitch black,” Ikuya huffed.

“No, look,” Momo let Asahi play it again, and at the very beginning there was a brief flash of light in the background—a building at the end of the alley. “I think I recognize that store, it’s in the Samezuka district, away from the center.”

“How do you know?”

“My uncle used to live around there.”

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Asahi lifted his glasses again, his famous smile growing wider.

“No, I’m not,” Ikuya said flatly.

“What? What are you thinking?” Momo dared to ask.

“What if we went there and found something? Like blood or a scale!”

“Asahi, there’s no way we’re the first people who know where this place is, I’m sure it’s been wiped clean if anything was there.”

“Only one way to find out! Momo, you in?”

Ikuya glared at Momo, but Momo was already nodding his head.

“Sweet!” Asahi hugged them both by the neck. “Tonight, we’re going to Samezuka!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we finally meet Sousuke! :D


	4. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke is found, wounded in the alley where Toraichi died, and the Samezuka clan has to deal with some tough questions.

Rin sucked his teeth has he landed on the roof and practically landed on top of Seijurou, the leader’s arms naturally crossed over his chest. He tried avoiding eye contact, but as soon as his feet hit the pavement, he knew it was pointless.

“What am I going to say, Stripes?”

Aiichiro, Takuya and Kazuki—who were talking nearby—slinked out of sight, but not earshot.

“I didn’t go far.”

“We’re on lockdown, that means everyone travels with someone else or lets us know where they’re going, regardless of how close.”

Rin smirked, as he distractingly stretched his wings. “Didn’t know the Samezuka clan needed a buddy system over some rowdy rogues.”

“You’re the one who brought up how much we don’t know about them.”

“I can take care of myself.”

Rin yelped as his shirt was yanked tight, Seijurou’s teeth clenched hard, almost as if to bite him.

“Don’t give me that, Rin, you’re smarter than that! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you need to get it together, fast. What you do affects all of us, especially here.”

Seijurou released him and glanced back at the group. “Give us a minute, would you guys?”

“Uh—yes, sir.”

Aiichiro and the others dispersed, as Rin adjusted his collar. Seijurou walked to the roof ledge and took a seat, waiting for Rin to join him. He was reluctant at first, but soon sat uneasily, shifting and ready to get up and leave at a moment’s notice.

“Can I ask you a question, Stripes?”

“Ok…”

“Why’d you come back?”

“Why? I was born here, and the island was a little too quiet for my taste.”

“So you came for thrills?”

“No, not really. I just…I felt like something was missing and I thought maybe I’d find it here, if I came back home.”

“Does it still feel like something’s missing?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Let me know if I’m reaching, but you miss Toraichi, don’t you.”

Rin stilled.

“I hate to break it you, but you’re not the only one. I know because of circumstances you may feel closer to him, but he was a father and a friend to a lot of us. He taught us to be self-sufficient, to be free. Everyone here understood that, even before he died, but afterwards…things just got a little more real. This clan hasn’t survived because we act tough and do what we want just because we can; we survived because we take calculated risks. I get that you want independence, and I get that maybe you’re trying to show off how strong you are by doing things on your own, but that’s not what this clan is about anymore. Being reckless won’t bring him back, nor make you feel better.”

“To be honest,” Rin settled on the ledge, resting an elbow on his knee. Normally, he wasn’t a fan of these kind of intimate conversations, unless they were with the Iwatobis, but Seijurou was pouring his heart out, and Rin almost felt like he owed him. “I don’t know if I miss him or am trying to be like him—what I can remember of him, anyway.”

“Listen, Stripes, I just want you to know that you have nothing to prove, you’re not doing yourself any favors by putting yourself in dangerous situations; you’re no good to us or yourself dead. We’re all just trying to look out for one another.”

“Ok...I’m sorry. I just...I think I’m just figuring myself out...thank you, Seijurou.”

“Of course, Stripes! What kind of leader would I be if I didn’t have a heart-to-heart with my subordinates once in awhile?” There it was—that stupid, winning grin Seijurou was famous for, the one that made him look like the most confident bastard in the world because, frankly, he was.

Rin rose and looked out over the skyline.

“Is it ok if I visit the alley? I’ll be quick about it, I’ve…I’ve been avoiding it since I got here; maybe it will help.”

“Yes, just be careful. Hope it gives you some closure.”

“Thanks,” Rin balanced himself on the ledge.

“Stripes—”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for letting me know.”

Rin nodded and caught a gust of wind that took him over the city.

***

Walking by Natsuya at school was shockingly less anxiety-inducing than trying to sneak past him in the middle of the night. Ikuya tip-toed past his brother’s room, peeking in just enough to make sure he was asleep, and crept slowly through the hall to the front door. His brother’s fiancée, Nao, was working another late-shift and wasn’t supposed to come home until early morning.

Between Natsuya’s snoring, the TV Ikuya purposely left on in the living room, and the stairs he no longer had to deal with after moving from a house to an apartment, he believed he was safe.

Natsuya let out an unusually abrupt snore that scared Ikuya half to death, before he finally made it to the door, clicked it in shut behind him, put his shoes on, and ran out of the building, to meet Asahi and Momo at the bus station.

The walk to the station was dark and eerie. Ikuya was used to playing the badass with a hard past at school, when he was around his classmates, when his brother was possibly around the corner, where things sucked but at least they were familiar. Leaving school in broad daylight was one thing, walking around desolate neighborhoods at night was another, and suddenly all those stories Nao liked to tell seemed a lot more plausible. Sure, he’d snuck out a few times in the past, when he was living with his now estranged parents, but he’d always been picked up in Asahi’s car, though this time he refused to use it, which is why they were resigned to taking the bus (“Hell no, I’m not bringing my car! I don’t care what happens to me, but I’m not getting my baby involved!”)

Natsuya and Nao’s apartment was in a quiet but compact neighborhood, just a few blocks from the station. It wasn’t even late, but it was already devoid of people, everyone settled or sleeping in for the night, the tiniest noise sending a wave of goosebumps up Ikuya’s arm.

Ikuya tried forcing his thoughts to stop racing as he finally approached the bus station, where Asahi and Momo were laughing and...getting along?

“Glad you made it, the bus should be here any second!” Asahi exclaimed. “You missed it, Mikoshiba, here, was shaking like a leaf when I arrived.”

Ikuya glared down at him. “It’s not cold.”

“No, but walking five blocks in the dark is scary, your mind plays tricks on you; we are going monster-hunting, after all,” Momo shrugged and scratched the back of his neck.

“Monsters aren’t real,” Ikuya looked away as the bus pulled in.

Fortunately, the closer they got to the Samezuka district, the brighter and more populated it became. When they hopped off the bus, Ikuya came face-to-face with a window display of cheaply made, overpriced merchandise, luring in the hoards of gullible patrons like a moth to a flame. He blushed, feeling increasingly embarrassed, and searched Asahi’s expression for confirmation that this was actually a dumb idea. Asahi was simply happy to be out with his friends, so he just had that stupid, charming smile he was so famous for, and Momo was practically Tasmanian devil-spinning down the street. As they passed the restaurants and bars, Ikuya felt a little better knowing that if their little excursion failed they had the rest of the district to backtrack on—you know, do things that actual teenagers did, instead of go on scavenger hunts for monsters.

“Lead the way, Momo,” Asahi bowed.

Momo trotted ahead of them, Ikuya practically glued behind him to keep him from getting too distracted and buying every piece of food in sight.

By the time they made it a number of blocks down, even happy-go-lucky Asahi started to tap his fingers in his pockets impatiently and Ikuya was two seconds away from committing murder.

The streets were getting quiet and desolate again, and they were almost convinced Momo was just strolling absently. They wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if he completely forgot what they were out there for.

“Momo, you sure you know the way?” Asahi asked.

“Course! We’re almost there!”

“Don’t know why we couldn’t just take a bus down here instead,” Ikuya sneered.

“The buses don’t make stops down here, not enough foot traffic to warrant it. Come on, not much further!”

 

Dark. Everything was dark and quiet.

Sousuke wasn’t sure how long he’d been on the ground, but eventually enough blood rushed back to his head in order for him to process where he was. An alley—the sky overhead, the street in front, beyond that, the distant sound of car horns and people, behind him an impenetrable wall. He was a lot closer to the city’s center then he ever wanted to be, and he knew he had to get away.

With his growing consciousness also came the return of the searing that plagued his right side. He looked over his bruised shoulder and forced his wing open just enough so could inspect the tear in his membrane.

If he could afford having sense, he’d conclude climbing and gliding were out of the question, but he didn’t have a lot of other options.

Using his good arm, Sousuke hoisted himself, using his legs and the walls for support. He rotated his right shoulder,  
for it to be kind to him, just for a few minutes.

He felt his knees start to buckle; he knew he hadn’t given his body enough time to rest, and a perfect mix of adrenaline and survival instincts were likely the only things from keeping from fainting instantaneously.

He had to get out of there, get away from Samezuka, get back to the others.

He placed a hand on the wall, inspecting it for cracks, bracing his body to go through one of the most strenuous things it’d probably ever go through.

He paused. Right in the spot where he was about to puncture the wall to scale it, was an indentation similar to one he would have left behind. He followed the marks in the wall, finding another, then another, until they disappeared in the darkness, but seemed to keep going all the way to the top.

Curiously, he glanced around the rest of the alley, finding odd fractures in the cement on almost every wall and even on the ground.

“A fight?” Sousuke said to himself.

The marks were all too embedded in the walls to be recent, so he concluded they couldn’t have come from his clan, which made his predicament a lot more dangerous. Not only was he uncomfortably close to most human-populated area, he was also likely in the heart of the rival clan’s territory.

He inhaled once and made his first mark in the wall, holding his wings tightly against himself to make himself as compact as possible.

He reached with his other arm, but it wasn’t until he lifted his shoulder to a certain degree that he realized just how bad the pain was and he slide back down to the hard pavement.

Sousuke huffed, his heavy breath accompanied by a frustrated growl deep in his chest.

He thought he saw a shadow swoop in front of him, and that was enough to make him jump back on his feet.

He lunged at the wall again, determined to make it wor—

“It’s right here!”

 

The boys had escalated to arguing (well, Ikuya and Momo were, Asahi was bringing up the rear and shaking his head). They bombarded their way into the alley, casting a long set of shadows that cloaked Sousuke in that dreaded darkness again.

_Get out._

Immediately the shouting stopped. The boys froze by the time they were halfway down the alley, their eyes still adjusting to the dark.

“Please tell me you that was your stomach, Momo,” Asahi pouted.

Momo, eyes locked in front of him, was able to let out a tiny, “Nuh uh.”

“Get out!”

Asahi took a step back. “Okay, that was definitely someone ta—”

“Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Momo stepped forward, as the most unusual sound--like the rippling of a large flag--echoed through the walls and the boys say the faint silhouette of what looked to be a person attached to...wings?

His words, buried in a growl backed by pain and anger, served as a first warning, his wings, extended, served as a second, his eyes, bright and white, served as a third. Still, the humans didn’t run and one of them even had the gall to step forward.

No more warnings.

Using the energy he had hoped to use to climb, he stood and braced himself for a fight.

“Guys, I think we need to go—Momo,” Ikuya grabbed Momo by the arm, yanking him back. As he did, he noticed Asahi trying to get a hold of his phone. “Are you crazy?!”

“Yep,’ Asahi said.

The night became still as whatever was hunched at the end of the alley sprung forward in a blur of fury and power. Ikuya tripped after Momo backed into him, Asahi finally getting a hold of his phone through shaking fingers. A quick, bright light flashed from Asahi’s phone, as they felt a strong gust of wind push them back, and Ikuya had enough sense left in him to push himself off the ground, grab both Momo and Asahi, and make a run for it.

Sousuke stared down whoever was stupid enough to challenge him.

Rin was only slightly shorter than him and definitely stronger, their arms locked together in a power struggle that Sousuke knew he would lose, already feeling his knees buckle again.

The fire behind Sousuke’s eyes died down at he realized his opponent was also a gargoyle.

“They’re just kids,” Rin said, loosening his grip.

Sousuke, already losing stamina, unhinged himself from Rin’s grip and backed away, his wings still spread out, his body stiff.

Rin was just as still, zig-zagging his eyes all over this rogue, trying to figure him out. He was dressed in old clothes, torn and dirty. His body a light blue that faded to a deeper color along his back and shoulders, freckled in thin lines and white spots. Once the defensive glow faded, Rin noticed the teal-blue color of his eyes, a color he definitely didn’t recognize among anyone from his clan or the island’s.

“Who are you?” Rin asked.

“You first,” Sousuke said, slowly letting down his guard, fatigued rather than relaxed. He didn’t want to reach for his shoulder, thought it made him look weak, but it hurt  
.  
“Where is the rest of your clan?” Rin asked.

Sousuke gritted his teeth. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know or you don’t want to tell me?”

No answer.

Rin sighed. He blinked down at the rogue, smelled the stench of blood, and noticed the rip in his wing. Those boys couldn’t have done this.

Something terrible must have happened to him, something he and the rest of the Iwatobi City gargoyles didn’t need to get involved in. He should leave him in the street, let whatever was after him find him and carry him off—one rogue wasn’t worth the safety of the entire clan…

Rin extended his hand in front of Sousuke. “My name is Rin, I’m from the Samezuka clan, and you must be the rogue that’s been causing trouble lately.”

Sousuke looked at Rin’s hand, then up at Rin, then back at his hand. “I don’t trust you.”

“And I don’t trust you, but I have the advantage and that hole in your wing might agree with me.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

Rin shook his head, confused. “No. We don’t have killers in my clan; do you?”

No answer.

Before the rogue could say anything that might change Rin’s mind, he kneeled down and hoisted Sousuke over his shoulder.

“Listen, I know you’re tired, but I’m going to need you to help me out a little, okay?”

Sousuke nodded.

Rin scaled the wall, Sousuke helping out when he could. They stopped, already exhausted, when they got to the roof—luckily, it wasn’t a very high building—and Rin let Sousuke catch his breath for a few seconds, while he gauged how far they’d have to glide.

“Alright, let’s get going. The sooner we start, the sooner we get there,” Rin said and helped Sousuke to his feet again.

He placed him so his right side was leaned over him, Sousuke’s right wing tucked behind Rin’s shoulder. Rin would use both wings and Sousuke would use his left; this was going to be a very bumpy flight.

***

Rin decided to head straight for the district’s center, where most of the clan was gathered. He ignored the curious looks and the crowd that was starting to amass as he got closer to Seijurou, Aiichiro and the others.

The look on Seijurou’s face would have been hilarious, had the situation not been so dire.

“Woah, Rin, is that the rogue?” Kazuki leaned forward.

“Are you hurt?” Aiichiro reached out, noticing the blood that soaked both Sousuke and Rin’s clothes.

“He needs help, his wing is badly hurt and he needs a place to rest until the sun comes up,” Rin ignored the barrage of questions—not like he could make out too many in the cacophony, anyway.

Seijurou quickly stepped forward and helped Rin hold Sousuke’s weight. He ordered two gargoyles to get blankets and water and they quickly returned to get the newcomer settled.

The clan gathered around him when he was finally comfortable, Rin stayed in between him and everyone else.

Seijurou stood over both of them, his arms famously on his hips, waiting. ‘Who are you?”

Sousuke breathed out, looked around. If this clan wanted to kill him, they could just by the numbers, even though a majority of them looked like they hadn’t been in a fight a day in their lives. He looked at the red gargoyle to his right, then up at Seijurou.

“My name is Sousuke,” he began, “I was traveling with my clan when we stumbled on this place, we were supposed to be passing through, rest for a few days, gather food—”

“Break into people’s stores and destroy their cars?”

He paused. “What?”

Seijurou squinted, but didn’t push it. Not yet, at least.

“We found an abandoned building, scheduled for demolition, thought we’d be safe there, but a few nights in, we were attacked shortly after waking up. I just remembered a lot of loud noises and screaming, things went dark after that and then...I ended up in an alley, where he—” he nodded towards Rin “—found me.”

“That gash in your wing, you don’t remember how you got that?”

“Scraped it, probably...I’m sorry, I don’t really remember.”

“Where was the building your clan stayed in?”

“On the edge of the city, close to the freeway.”

“That’s on the complete opposite side of the city,” Ai said.

“I saw some of them escape but we were all scattered and separated in the confusion, they might also be injured; I don’t where they are, we didn’t establish a rendezvous point.”

“Aiichiro, front and center,” Seijurou commanded.

“Sir!”

“I have to go back…,” Sousuke tried to lean forward, but immediately leaned back, pain and fatigue finally taking their toll.

“No, you don’t. You barely have the energy to stand, you need to rest,” Seijurou stared over the roof’s ledge, Aiichiro close behind. “You up for this, Ai?”

“Yes!”

“Takuya, Kazuki, you two are in charge until we get back; Rin, you watch out for the rogue; all of you, stay here. We’ll be back before sun-up.”

“Wait—” Rin got up as Sousuke finally fell into a deep sleep. He ran to Seijurou’s side and brought his voice to barely a whisper. “You can’t be serious about going over there; whoever came after his clan might still be there. We can’t lose another leader.”

“Don’t worry, Stripes,” he smirked, then raised his voice to address the clan. “We’re just scoping the place out, we’ll turn around at the first sign of trouble.”

***

The building Sousuke must have referred to was easy to spot, it was almost a standalone building off to the side of criss-crossing freeways, a building long forgotten after the rise of the city. Wherever Sousuke’s clan came from, they definitely weren’t accustomed to humans or city living, otherwise they would have never chosen such a easily accessible resting place. Sure, the building was abandoned, but the jagged fence that surrounded the unkept area was broken and wide open, and it was barely any distance from the busy roads. Someone could easily spot an entire clan of winged creatures flying into it.

Seijurou and Aiichiro waited in the treeline surrounding the old building, watching. It’d be smarter to wait longer than they had, but they were running out of time.

They glided low to the ground, swooped into the air, and latched onto the side of the building, about halfway up. Seijurou held up his hand for Aiichiro to stay still while he peeked into the window. Nothing but a grey, empty room stared back.

He pointed up and they scaled the walls, until about three windows up and then they paused. They stared at each other, the only thing moving their steady, breathing chests. Seijurou took another quick look around, down at the ground, but saw nothing.

Neither of them wanted to say it out loud, but the air was ripe with the smell of old blood.

Seijurou hoped through the open window first, the glass never installed. Aiichiro followed right behind, taking careful steps into the building. A pile of stone lay on either side of them and there were more throughout the floor. Stains of blood, blackened with dirt, were splattered on the floor and walls, though besides the piles of stone that sometimes resembled an arm or a face, there were no actual flesh and blood bodies.

“Sir…”

Seijurou followed the trail of destruction to one of the walls opposing the window. Against it was a crudely spray-painted circle with what looked to be a sledgehammer in the center.

He looked outside, the stars were no longer visible.

He kneeled beside one of the dead, his hands hovering over them, almost unable to comprehend that they were sleeping just a night ago, minutes from waking up before they were pulverized without a chance to defend themselves. Whoever did this was a coward.

Aiichiro’s face was stained with tears, and Seijurou almost regretted bringing him, but he knew it was smart to do so; not that he ever wanted him or any of the clan to go through this, but whatever they needed to see or learn to get them through life was a necessary evil. He just hoped Aiichiro was resilient enough to know that they had to do whatever it took to make sure this didn’t happen to their clan, or the island’s.

“Who could do this?” Aiichiro wiped his face.

“I don’t know. Probably someone inexperienced, if they attacked right before the clan was supposed to wake up.”

“It—it looks like the rest of the clan escaped. Besides the...the stone, there aren’t any bodies.”

“We have to go,” Seijurou stood up. “Help me find something we can carry them in.”

 

Seijurou and Aiichiro cut their return close enough that the entire clan gave a collective sigh of relief. Then, everyone was dead-silent.

Between the distraught looks on Seijurou and Aiichrio’s faces and the securely-wrapped bundle in Seijurou’s arms, they were all frozen with fear and realization.

“Sir…?” Kazuki stepped forward.

“We have to put this someplace safe.”

“Are they are all…?”

“No. We found five of them there, crushed before they woke up, but otherwise the place was empty.”

Whispers among the clan started to circulate.

Rin, who had barely left his charge’s side, looked at Sousuke, hot tears already burning his eyes.

Everything the Samezuka clan was founded on and continued to live by was about resilience; being able to understand and accept the hardships of life and face them head-on. That’s why Toraichi and his small band decided to settle in the busiest part of the city, why a number of the coastline youths left their home to live here, how they were able to recoup after Toraichi’s death. But now, things felt different.

What happened to Toraichi was a tragedy, but it was an isolated incident. He was seen and the humans reacted, but this—Rin watched Kazuki take the jar wrapped in cloth from Seijurou and went to store it, likely by the supply bins—the idea of being killed in their own home, unable to see it coming, to help, to do anything...

While more than half the clan was delegating what their next move should be, and trying to put all the pieces together so they didn’t feel quite so out of control, Rin was crying for Sousuke, because he didn’t get to talk about the “what if’s,” he’d have to deal with them.

The clan’s murmuring came to a halt as gold outlined each of their faces. They looked out towards the sun, for the first time in fear, as it’s warmth beamed on them and they were frozen in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Sou's story is so tragic! It broke my heart to write this chapter...


	5. Risky Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sasabe High trio deal with discovering Iwatobi City's little secret, and the Iwatobi islanders, inspired by Rin and the Samezuka clan, decide to take a chance on Rei.

Somewhere between marking up another paper with red ink and taking another lazy bite of cheap takeout, Rei realized he was actually having a good night.

He and Natsuya had stayed after hours to work, but at some point Natsuya offered to buy food and Rei remembered he had a stomach that couldn’t survive on coffee forever. They switched back and forth between working, eating and talking about nothing until it was dark enough outside that the lights inside were almost blinding. Finally, food long devoured and papers long finished, Natsuya stretched out, silently signalling that it was time to go home.

Rei had to admit, it was the first time in awhile that he stayed at the school until a reasonable hour for a justifiable reason.

“There; doesn’t it feel better to spend your nights with me rather than sitting on some dusty roof all night?” Natsuya said, as he finished tying the garbage bag.

“Without a doubt, but—and forgive me if I’m prodding—but you’ve looked a little run-down yourself lately, is everything alright?”

“I’m fine, just the usual stuff.”

“Is it about Ikuya? I noticed he didn’t show up in class again.”

“That’s part of it; I caught him and Momo in the hallway, but didn’t have the heart to stop them.”

“You can still reprimand him as an administrator, you don’t have to be the big brother all the time, right?”

“Yes, I do, Rei. I’m not supposed to scold him, I’m supposed to steer him in the right direction and hope for the best...at least, that’s what I thought I was supposed to do, but it hasn’t been working. I just can’t figure out how the source of the problem” Natsuya slumped in his chair. “I thought it would be enough to get him out of my parent’s place, but he’s still not happy.”

“Does your fiancé have any ideas?”

“That’s the other thing—Nao’s barely home anymore, his job’s been keeping him for these ridiculous hours lately.”

Natsuya opened the door for Rei, and followed him out.

“Get some sleep, Natsuya, things will look better in the morning; thanks for taking time out of your night for this, and dinner,” Rei said, as Natsuya headed down the hallway, to where his car was parked.

“Don’t thank me, yet, next time it’s coming out of your pocket; ‘night, Ryugazaki.” Natsuya gave a two-finger salute and left.

Rei walked through the school to the side entrance. There was a kind of cathartic energy to being in the school at night, especially with the anxiety of being there for the wrong—and possibly illegal—reasons was gone. As he walked out of the front doors, he heard a whisper and turned to answer Natsuya, but only the low hum of the electricity that was never fully turned off in the building, answered back. He looked around outside, where only a handful of cars, and not a person in sight, were out. He gave a small chuckle, laughing at his own mind playing tricks on him.

He made it to his car and—”I told you he’d be here!”—he stopped, looked around, saw no one. He continued to search through his pockets for his keys—”Be quiet!”—he froze. The voice was definitely coming from the other side of the parking lot, away from the other cars.

“Hello?”

“Lemme go, Mako, you guys have to trust me!”

Rei’s body slowly followed his eyes and he looked at the school’s entrance and the roof overhead, where, thankfully, nothing but the night sky looked back. He gave a short sigh of relief before turning back to his car and falling back in a frenzy of panic and surprise as he was inches away from a pair of wide, curious eyes.

Nagisa jumped off the car and hunched forward, waving his hands in front of him apologetically.

“Hi! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you saw us…,” he took eager steps towards the man, who was scrambling away. “My name is Nagisa, you’re the guy who saw us the other night!”

“I—I—I—” Rei remembered to breath. “Us?”

“Let me help you up,” Nagisa extended his hand. Rei just stared at it: a small palm with four short but prominent claws attached.

Rei blinked. Inhale, blink, inhale, blink. There’s a gargoyle standing right in front of you. _Inhale, Rei, dammit, inhale._

Rei finally found the courage to breathe properly just to lose it again at the sound of heavy, large wings flapping behind him. He dared turn around, only to find three, even bigger forms, towering over him.

“He doesn’t seem like a threat,” Gou said.

“Maybe I approached this all wrong; how do you think Rin does it?” Nagisa pouted.

Makoto leaned forward just a little, like he was inspecting a cornered animal. “Maybe this is the wrong person?”

“No, I’m sure this is him.” 

Rei gulped hard. “Are...are you going to eat me?” Nagisa let out what he was sure he processed was a laugh (monsters laugh?).

“No, of course not!” Nagisa sighed and crouched down, forcing the very confused man to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry we scared you, it’s my fault; to be honest, I was kind of eager to meet you and I think I overdid it. Let me start over: my name’s Nagisa, what’s yours?”

Everything was silent, except the thunderous pound of Rei’s heart. Rei got himself together enough to calm his breathing—it wouldn’t matter if these creatures were here to kill him if he gave himself a heart attack first.

“That was you, wasn’t it?” Rei whispered, and finally took Nagisa’s hand to help him off the floor. “That night, when I was on the roof…”

“Yeah, that was us!” Nagisa beamed.

Rei looked at the other three—Makoto, Haruka, and Gou—who were all guarded and stiff; Rei didn’t blame them. At least his heart didn’t feel like it was going to burst out of his chest anymore, but he still felt the hairs on his arms bristle. He leaned against his car, to steady himself, and took a good hard look at the four gargoyles who decided to present themselves to him. Despite their stature...and their sharp teeth...and their wings...their eyes were strangely familiar, expressive just like a human’s, and unique, gleaming with saturated colors as rich as a gem’s, except for the blue one, who’s eyes glowed white and hot in the dark, like a cat’s.

He turned back to the small yellow one, the one that was was still leaning forward. Until tonight, Rei didn’t know someone could lean enthusiastically.

“You said you wanted to talk to us, and I wanted to believe you,” Nagisa said.

“I knew it...I knew what I saw was real!” Rei triumphantly threw a fist in the air, before catching and composing himself. “But I didn’t think...I didn’t think something would actually come of it. You’re all so…”

“Watch it,” the one with the glowing eyes snapped. He and the red female were both smaller than the green one in the middle, but stood much more confidently. Though they were clearly uneasy, Rei could tell from the way the blue one’s eyes--though devoid of pupils at the moment, knew they were locked on him, and that if made a single wrong move it would probably be his last. Which made Rei much more receptive to looking to the yellow one named Nagisa.

“Don’t worry about Haru, he looks kind of intimidating, but he’s actually really sweet.”

“Haruka…,” Rei rolled the name out, looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, but I think you can agree that we’re all a little on edge here.”

The glow in Haru’s eyes faded away, but that scowl sure didn’t.

“My name is Rei Ryugazaki…,” he pointed to the left, “you’re Nagisa, you’re Haruka, and you two are…?”

“That’s Makoto and Gou—”

“It’s Kou!”

“Nice to meet you,” Rei nodded in their direction.

“So...you’re not a hunter?” Gou said, coming up next to Nagisa.

“A hunter? No, not at all, I’m a school teacher,” said Rei, gesturing towards the building behind him.

“Then why were you on the roof, looking for my friends?”

“Oh, right, well, I thought I saw a shadow pass by and figured I’d get a better look from the roof; my co-worker just talked me out of feeling crazy about it, but now I’m starting to think being crazy might just be the key to getting by in this city.”

“Wow, Rei, that’s really weird,” Nagisa beamed.

Rei frowned. So says the gargoyle with skin the color of a post-it note and a tail. 

“It’s late, if I come back to work looking like a disheveled mess after just starting to get my act together, Natsuya will have my head,” Rei looked at his watch, Haru and Makoto exchanged glances.

“That’s ok, we won’t keep you up, it was nice to actually meet you, I’ve never talked to a human before!”

“Never?”

Nagisa shook his head.

“We have to go,” Makoto said, tapping Nagisa on the arm and giving Rei was quizzical look.

Guards down enough to let Nagisa out of their sight, Makoto and Haru started scaling the school’s wall, just enough to climb it, but careful not to leave noticeable dents in the concrete, and Gou followed suit, also sizing up the human as she left; at least her glare didn’t make Rei think she _wanted_ to kill him.

Nagisa smiled up at Rei.

“Um, since I don’t feel like spending anymore late-nights embarrassing myself on the roof, how can I contact you again?”

“Oh, um...do you know where the waterfront is?”

“In the park?”

“Yeah, meet us over there; is tomorrow night okay?”

“It’s a date.”

Rei watched the gargoyles, as Nagisa left, until they were out of sight. He looked up at the skyline, wondered just how many secrets this city was hiding in plain sight. He laughed out loud to himself, while he rested his hand on his head, drunk from disbelief.

***

Rei had the stupidest smile plastered on his face ever since he drove home from work, forced himself to go to sleep, and finally made it to his morning class. Maybe if Ikuya wasn’t so frazzled from his own sleepless night, he would have commented on Rei’s pitiful attempt at hiding it. Ikuya sat at his desk, fidgeting between tapping his pencil, tapping his foot, and he was pretty sure his eye twitched.

Even Asahi slinked into class at the last second, looking like a combination of a zombie and the grim reaper with his hood wrapped tightly around his head and the darkest circles under his eyes. He glared down at the kid sitting next to Ikuya, opposite Momo, until he got the message to get up and leave, and Asahi slumped in his chair, ignoring the glare the misplaced kid gave him.

“I didn’t know you had this class,” Momo leaned forward, far enough that his chest hovered above his desk.

“I don’t.”

The three of them straightened up when Rei let out an unusually loud shout, pointing enthusiastically at a student in the front row and going back to writing giddily on his chalkboard.

“So...are we going to talk about it?” Momo asked, voice quieter than usual.

“Hell yeah, we are. Guys, do you realize what we’ve stumbled on?” Asahi revealed a cheshire cat grin that made both Ikuya and Momo raise their brows high with disbelief.

“Nobody’s going to believe us,” Ikuya gritted through his teeth. He hadn’t slept a wink last night and doubted he’d get any tonight.

“Yes, they will; check this!” Asahi ripped his phone out of his pocket with astonishing speed.

“Is that from last night?” Ikuya whispered.

Momo yanked the phone to get a closer look, until Ikuya snatched it away so it’d be in the middle, and all three boys stared down at it like it was made of gold.

The light from the harsh flash oversaturated the image, but the photo was of two creatures. The closer one—his back to them, showing off his large wings and massive tail—locked in combat with the other, whose body was partially hidden by the one in front, but they could make out that he was blue and he was the one that lunged at them. There was no mistaking the photo was real, and both Ikuya and Momo held their breath as they let sink in what Asahi had probably been thinking about all night prior: this photo was real and ten times more tangible then the famous video that put Iwatobi on the map. If they got people to believe them, they’d never have to want for anything again.

“But how?” Ikuya whispered.

“Maybe we could sell it online?” Momo suggested.

“Are you nuts? If we put this online, it’ll get copied and edited in seconds; we’ll never be able to prove it’s real, much less from us,” Asahi snapped.

Ikuya breathed out. “Well we can’t slam it on the Mayor’s desk.”

Ikuya handed Asahi his phone back, meanwhile they tossed ideas at each other throughout the day, until they were all slumped over Asahi’s car after school. Finally, Asahi sat up, wearing that cheshire cat grin again that both Ikuya and Momo were starting to train themselves the fear.

“What about Nightwatch?”

Ikuya rolled his eyes.

“The place we went on a class trip to?” Momo asked.

“Sure. They’re all about paranormal, supernatural stuff, right? And they’ve been in business long enough that they have to have clout, maybe they can pay us something, or at least get us to someone who can.”

Ikuya stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Nightwatch banks on dumb parlor tricks, nothing in there is real.”

“Who cares! That might even help us! If they’re so hungry for proof that they’ll accept any old bullshit, then they’ll have to believe us! And I was thinking of something, what if we went a step further…,” he waited for them to lean in closer. “What if we caught it?”

“Caught it...?”

“The photo is a good start, really good, but all three of us know what we saw—we saw a gargoyle, _two_ of them! We know for a fact that they exist, and we can probably bargain our way to a pretty sweet deal with this photo, but imagine how much more we can get if we bring in the actual thing!”

“Don’t you think there’s a reason nobody’s ever captured a live gargoyle before?”

“Lack of ambition?”

“Asahi, I swear to God—”

“Come on, guys, think of what we could gain!”

“So what’s the plan? We just sneak up on it and catch it by surprise?”

“I’m pretty sure I have some old fishing nets at home, we can lay out a trap.”

“You want to capture a super-elusive creature, ten times bigger than us, that can fly, _with a fishing net_?” Ikuya rubbed the bridge of his nose so hard he almost chafed it.

“Yes!”

“You’re insane.”

“Let’s do it!” Asahi and Ikuya turned to Momo. “We have the proof we need if things don’t go right, might as well give it a try; this could change our lives.”

“Our lives already have been changed,” Ikuya said. “Best case scenario: we all get super-rich; worst case scenario: it gets pissed and kills us on sight.”

“I don’t think so, Ikuya. Last night, there were two of them that could have easily killed us. I know the blue one jumped at us, maybe it was scared, but the red one let us go.”

“Oooor it was too busy fighting its rival for food and didn’t have a chance to take a bite out of us before we made a break for it. If we have the proof we need, why are we going back?”

Asahi pulled his hood back, and his usually twisted smile flatlined into something much more solemn. “All right, you got me; we don’t need anymore proof, but aren’t you guys curious? We just stumbled upon this city’s biggest secret, and you’re telling me you have _no_ interest in finding out more about it?”

Ikuya sighed. “It’s dangerous.”

“Code for you’re scared.”

“Shut up! You aren’t?”

‘Hell yeah I am!” There goes that other smile Ikuya can’t stand—that stupid, wide-mouthed one that made him remember he’s known this idiot since they were kids, and made him admit that he liked going along with Asahi’s dumb ideas, because they made his life a little more interesting or dangerous or distracting. Not that he’d ever admit that to Asahi’s face, of course.

“Fine…,” Ikuya mumbled under his breath. “Fine, fine, fine, FUCKING FINE. We can go. But can please make a trip to the hardware store first? I don’t trust your family fishing net, Asahi.”

Asahi shrugged and got into his car, turning the ignition as Ikuya and Momo got in after him.

***

“Hanging w/ the guys; spending the night @ Momo’s”

Natsuya melted into the couch when he made it home. A two-bedroom apartment with a hallway barely big enough for a man to squeeze through probably wasn’t much to most, but to Natsuya it was enough, because at the very least it was his: his rules, his decor, all earned and bought with his money.

Since being engaged, more of Nao’s belongings slowly migrated from his place in the tourist facility to Natsuya’s apartment. It was never officially stated that he was moving in, but he was given a key and Natsuya made it clear that his apartment was as much Nao’s home as his. In his head, Natsuya envisioned the day he’d be old and financially well-off enough to legally adopt his younger brother, have his loving husband right by his side, move into a bigger, better apartment, and the three of them would live happily ever after, but he was so busy thinking about getting to his goals that he didn’t think about the stability needed to upkeep them, and now, on top of everything else, he barely had enough money in his savings to keep up with the bills.

He sighed as he flipped through another channel. He sent his brother a simple “Ok” before haphazardly flipping through channels (all thirty of them) and throwing his leg over the armrest, knocking over the pillows.

“You didn’t even ask what I wanted to watch,” Nao said, leaning over the chair and scaring the living hell out of his fiancé.

“Nao! You’re here!”

“And you’re resting on the newly cleaned couch with your dirty day clothes.”

“When the fuck did you get here?” Natsuya straightened himself up, readjusted the couch so the pillows were no longer a mess, and didn’t even bother hiding the red in his cheeks. Years of knowing each other and dating, and months of engagement, and Nao Serizawa still made Natsuya blush as badly as he had in middle school.

Nao walked around the sofa to stand between Natsuya and the now-forgotten TV, tilted Natsuya’s chin upwards with his knuckle and gave him a slow, deep kiss. Natsuya thanked the stars he was sitting, because his knees would have buckled for sure. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, love.”

Nao walked over to the kitchen, Natsuya trailing close behind, and reached for the house phone. “Unfortunately, I have to go back to work for the rest of the night, but I’m here for the next three hours, so I figured I’d hang around and we could all order a pizza or something. Is Ikuya coming, does he want anything?”

Natsuya leaned against the doorframe in a way that made Nao bite his bottom lip to stifle a laugh. Either Natsuya miscalculated how slim that door frame was and as too embarrassed to adjust himself, or he was trying to look cool and failing at it miserably.

“Actually, no, he’s hanging out with Asahi and Momo, and spending the night.”

“Oh?” Nao lowered the phone, intrigued. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it? I remember Momo from the trip, he seems nice.”

“He is. I don’t know, though. I wanted Ikuya to make friends, but it sounds like he’s getting them into trouble instead of them getting him out.”

Nao laughed, to Natsuya’s surprise. “You think Ikuya is trouble?”

“Of course he is! He skips class, he ignores me, he’s hanging out with a kid two strikes away from dropping out.”

“You never skipped class and ignored your teachers?”

Nao let Natsuya rant for five minutes while he called in a pizza, occasionally nodding to let Natsuya know he wasn’t completely ignoring him.

“Maybe I could cut off his cell phone,” Natsuya said, like he had cracked a code.

Nao hung up the phone and looked at him over his glasses.

“I thought you weren’t trying to be his father? Do you have any idea how hard it must have been to—”

“To get away from our psycho parents? Yes, I do, I was there.”

“To move away from the only home you knew, into a bigger city, and now your brother is acting like a parent and a teacher.”

“So you think I shouldn’t scold him?”

“I think he’s a teenaged boy who just wants a little freedom and time to figure himself out. Ikuya’s a good kid, Nat, you know that.”

“I just don’t want him to ruin his life before it’s even started. I felt awful leaving him when I did, but I was a kid, I didn’t think it through.”

“Then give him some space; if he’s mad at you, hounding him won’t help.”

Natsuya came up behind Nao and kissed him on the back of the neck. “Sometimes I think you’re actually a therapist, the way you talk to people, you know that?”

“If I was, I’d be getting paid a hell of a lot more,” Nao said, as Natsuya placed a kiss on the crook of his neck, earning him a hum that vibrated down his neck against Natsuya’s kiss and turned it into a playful nip. 

“How long you’d say you had?”

Nao turned around and flung his arms around him to give him another kiss, savoring the soft feel of his lips. “Three hours.”

***

The harsh light of the hardware store was starting to give Ikuya a headache, or maybe that was just his brain over-reacting to thinking every person that passed them in the aisles was paying extra close attention to them. They were just three teenage boys buying a suspicious amount of rope and wire for a...school project.

At least the cashier was kind enough to only give them an arched brow in response.

They shoveled the stuff into the trunk of Asahi’s car so fast, that if they didn’t look suspicious before, they definitely did now.

“So where are we setting all this up?” Ikuya asked.

“The Samezuka district alley…,” Asahi started, but trailed off. Nobody wanted to say it out loud, but they were terrified to go back there. They doubted they’d step foot anywhere near the entire Samezuka district again.

“What about the park?” Momo suggested. “It’s dark, quiet, it’s supposed to be closed at night. If I was a gargoyle, that’s where I would go.”

“Momo, I could kiss you,” Asahi said.

“Can we go, please? It’s already sunset, and I don’t feel like setting all this up in the dark,” Ikuya hissed and was already in the car.

Countless cuts, multiple lacerations along his arms, and hours worth of work left Ikuya ready to kill his friends and staring at a tangle of net, rope, wire and leaves that looked more like a pile of debris than any kind of trap.

Sneaking into the park was the easy part—there were no guards posted by the entrances, just random drive-bys from the local police that they easily dodged. They chose a spot deep into the park, off the cement trail, and decided to start setting up by a patch of smaller trees and bushes.

They dug a shallow hole in ground, roughly ten feet wide and five deep. They spread a net made of wire and rope over it and semi-buried it in the ground with a blanket of dirt and leaves. Each corner of the net was nailed into the ground with large hooks to keep it in place. Knots were also tied into each corner of net, and snaked loosely through the trees, where they joined together to a single line that was hoisted over a thick tree limb, which took Asahi ten times to successfully throw.

It was pitiful.

“This is pitiful,” Ikuya said.

“I have a good feeling about it, we just need to be patient,” said Asahi.

“Test it,” Ikuya said, looking down at the trap uneasily, like it would snap at any second.

“How?” Momo asked.

“Asahi, this was your idea, walk on it.”

Asahi opened his mouth, but promptly closed it. The trap should work...right? They set up the trap away from the trails, deep enough into the park’s foliage that it’d be very unlikely for a person to come across it, much less step on it, but they secured it specifically so it would stay in place unless it was disturbed by something unusually heavy.

After some barking back and forth, Asahi convinced Ikuya to hold his hands as he half-walked, half-skipped across the trap. It didn’t budge.

Asahi and Momo looked at each other like excitable puppies, and even Ikuya’s mouth pursed, impressed.

After looking over their mess of a trap, and trying to convince themselves they did a good job, they started to dust themselves off and sneak back to the car. They decided to call it a night, and would check on it tomorrow.

***

The ocean lapped against the rocks under the railing in subdued waves. Haruka watched them, distracting himself per Makoto’s suggestion, from twitching at every twig or shadow that moved out of place. “We have to give him a chance,” Makoto reassured, even though he was on edge, too. Nagisa could be trusted, and in most cases so could his instincts, but Rei was a wild card until proven otherwise. This could be a trap, he could be bring reinforcements, he could—

“Hello?” Rei’s voice shouted meekly from the path, as he rounded the corner. 

“You made it!” Nagisa bounded up to him and led him to the bench closest to where the group was. Once Rei got settled, his arms tucked neatly and awkwardly in his lap, Nagisa hunched beside him, Makoto and Gou made an effort to stand closer and seem more approachable, and Haruka stayed by the railing. Rei stared at the way the yellow gargoyle was sitting; when Nagisa noticed he adjusted himself so he sat cross-legged instead.

Rei sat silently, though the atmosphere was busy with tension, and glanced up at Nagisa’s wings, that were almost big enough to drape over him.

“I’m sorry, are they in your way?” Nagisa asked, and before Rei could answer he folded them down so they draped over his shoulders.

“Um, no, they’re...,” Rei looked at them; even folded they were a large cape of thick membrane and skin, and in Nagisa’s case, a soft shade of peachy-pink on their underside. “Beautiful,” Rei finally said and offered Nagisa a smile.

Rei tried to put his intuitive skills to work and read the group of gargoyles. Between Nagisa staring up at him like he was a celebrity, Makoto and Gou just looking with cautious curiosity, and Haruka...he’d rather not think about what Haruka thought, of course everyone—save for Nagisa, it seemed—was nervous, but Rei was given a chance which he’d never be given again if he handled his interactions with them poorly. He was already confident that they wouldn’t hurt him, but they’d certainly stay hidden for good if he gave them any reason to doubt or mistrust him.

“Can I ask you all something?” Rei leaned forward.

“Sure thing, Rei,” Nagisa replied.

‘Where did you all come from?”

Rei noticed the elusive trio straighten, and the green one—Makoto—opened his mouth slightly to say something, but decided against it, decided to trust Nagisa, and therefore trust Rei.

“We grew up here, before a lot of these buildings,” Nagisa gestured to the skyline behind them, “were put up, and we used to live along the beach. But then, things got more crowded and we moved to the island.”

“The island? That little piece of land right off the coastline?”

“Yeah, that’s it!”

“You all live over there? How many of you are there?”

“Lots of us.”

“Where do you get your food? What do you do for fun? How can that tiny place house all of you?”

“Woah, one at a time, Rei! I’m flattered, I didn’t think our boring lives would sound so interesting!”

“I’m just...well, for one, I’m grateful. I know I’m asking a lot, but please know your secrets are safe with me. And second, I’m sorry your entire family was forced to move into such a cramped space.” Rei noticed the clothes Nagisa wore, which were basic, but functioning, pants made of stretchy fabric and a shirt that was tied in knots in the back to fit properly on his torso and around his wings. Someone had customized it. Rei’s brows furrowed at the craftsmanship, impressed. “Do you sew?”

“Oh,” Nagisa caught Rei’s wondering eyes and glanced down at his shirt, “no, not at all. I’m not good with precision, so I’m sure my attempt at sewing wouldn’t be very neat.”

“They’re made for us, but Haruka can sew,” Makoto said. Rei smiled as Haruka let out a quiet _tsk_. So the intimidating Haruka has a soft side after all.

“Do a lot of people know about you?”

“No, barely anybody; we’re generally very cautious of humans,” Makoto continued.

“So, who makes your—?”

Nagisa leaned in. “Have you ever heard of a place called Nightwatch?”

“Yes, my class just took a trip there recently,” Rei paused. “The man with the silver hair—is he one of you? Can you shapeshift during the day?”

Rei flinched when, to his surprise, Gou, Nagisa, and even Makoto and Haruka let out a thunderous laugh, and Rei found himself smiling, despite having no clue what was so funny.

“We’re not werewolves, Rei! We can’t shapeshift,” Nagisa caught his breath to answer.

Rei whispered. “Are werewolves real?” To which, he was answered back with the gargoyles’ continued laughter.

“Nao’s a long-time friend of ours, he’s been helping us out for years. Everyone at the facility does.”

“You don’t hunt?”

Nagisa bit his lip to stop from laughing again. “Nope, we eat cheeseburgers and fruit like the rest of you. I heard in the old days, we used to steal, but we haven’t had to do that for generations.”

“So the Nightwatch facility...everything in there is real?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“That’s brilliant. Put the evidence in plain sight of people so they don’t speculate you’re hiding anything. Nao must have some amazing connections.”

“Yeah, being a fairy has its advantages.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, yeah, Nao’s a fairy.”

“He’s a member of the fae, Nagisa, he’s mostly elvish,” Haruka corrected.

“Fae?”

“Faefolk—elves, fairies, unicorns, goblins—” Nagisa said.

“Vampires?”

“Rei, vampires aren’t real.”

“So, Nao and everyone working at the facility is a member of the...fae?”

“Most of them. Some are humans who just have a fae relative or friend, they all know about us, though. That’s what the facility is for; it helps fund whatever supplies Nao provides for us.”

“My God, Natsuya must be—” Rei suddenly felt a pang of guilt. “Natsuya doesn’t know, does he? About any of this?”

“No, he doesn’t. I think Nao’s wanted to tell him, but he doesn’t know how.”

“Is he scared Natsuya will expose all of you?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t met Natsuya in person, but Nao talks so much about him I almost feel like I do; I don’t think he’d tell the world about us, but Natsuya is kind of a realist.”

“As you may have guessed, it’s a lot of information to take in if you’re a regular human just hearing about all this stuff for the first time. I think he thinks Natsuya will leave if he found out the truth,” Makoto explained.

Before Rei even noticed, he placed his hand over his heart. “What made you all come to me in the first place? I know you saw me on the roof, but you could have ignored me and never come back.”

“You didn’t seem like a threat, and I wanted to take a chance on you. You can thank Rin for inspiring me to work up the courage to say something.”

“You mentioned that name at the school; I presume Rin is a friend of yours?”

“Rin is another gargoyle, like us; he lives in the Samezuka district.”

“By himself?”

“No, there’s another clan that lives over there—they live on the rooftops.”

“The rooftops?”

“They make it work. The Samezuka clan’s always on the move, that’s why they settled in the middle of the city instead of the island with the rest of us.”

Rei suddenly got a deep, sinking feeling in his chest as he tried to visualize the Samezuka district with gargoyles flying overhead, just out of sight. The words almost stuck in his throat, but he forced them out and immediately wanted to take them back when he saw the color drain from his company’s faces, even Nagisa’s.

“The video they keep playing...is that—is that real?”

“Yes, it is,” Haruka said. For the first time since they met, Haru came within two feet of Rei and stood in front of him, looked him dead in the eye. There was a softness there, a vulnerability, and Rei suddenly felt all the death glares he’d been given were justified. “His name was Toraichi, he was the leader of the Samezuka clan, and he died that night, protecting our rookery brothers and sister. Kou was there, and so was Rin, and I think it lit a fire in him, made him want to try connect with humans, so something like that wouldn’t happen again.”

“That video...all the myths surrounding this city. I thought it was all just a tourist epicenter, but...I’m so sorry for your loss. That video helped me find this city, helped lead me to my job; it’s disgusting how commercialized it’s become; how can the Samezuka clan stand it? A whole district that cheapens you to a plastic keychain?”

“That doesn’t bother us, we don’t care much for materialistic things; I don’t know how they do it, but they do, but my guess is they use it as a reminder,” Haruka said.

“I’d love to meet them all one day, if that’s ok; the amount of strength and resilience you all have is inspiring!”

“Well, you can probably meet Rin, and I don’t think Seijurou would have a problem with you meeting the Samezukas,” Nagisa said. “But I don’t think Hiro and Tachi would be too happy about you going to the island, they’re super-protective of us.”

“That’s fair. I really appreciate you all deciding to put your trust in me, and I hope to honor that trust,” Rei stood up and extended his hand down to Nagisa.

The gargoyle shook it, beaming.


	6. Clanless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke becomes more acclimated into the Samezuka clan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait; I was having trouble finding time to write this chapter.
> 
> Next up, shit starts to get real!

Rin was never so happy to burst through his stone sleep, and let out a yawning roar to celebrate the fact. He looked down at his hands, took a careful second to stretch his wings, grateful to have them. Relief washed over him as his brothers and sister did the same. Seijuro bobbed his head, murmured to himself, counting heads. Just in case.

Rin went to give his leader a weak smile when he nodded in his direction, but it was returned with an annoyed sneer. Rin frowned before he put two and two together and looked behind him. Sousuke was pushing himself on his knees, his wings technically healed, but left with permanent holes in the membrane. Rin went to kneel beside him, but he was forced to keep his distance when one of Sousuke’s wings passive-aggressively spread out.

“Sousuke, you should be resting…,” Rin began. He started to grow impatient when Sousuke’s wing didn’t move. Sousuke place a shaky, but determined, hand on the building’s railing, using it to stand up.

Rin called for Seijuro just as someone made a gasping sound, as Rin turned back as Sousuke hoisted himself over the edge. Rin dove after him, prepared to catch him, but Sousuke launched himself off the building’s side and flapped his wings to propel him through the air. His flight was rough, his wings crooked from not stretching properly, and he was wavering every few feet. Rin followed him, and he could only imagine what kind of adrenaline burned inside of Sousuke, that was spiked so high he outpaced one of the fastest gargoyles in Iwatobi, regardless that he was suffering from fatigue and now had a permanently ruptured wing. 

Rin didn’t have a plan for when he caught up to Sousuke—not that he’d be able to until Sousuke, himself, decided to stop and let him catch up, anyway—but he didn’t want Sousuke to be alone. He looked over his shoulder as Seijuro caught up.

A sinking, ugly feeling poured its way into Rin as they approached the abandoned building. Seijuro gave him a look that didn’t make him feel any better. Sousuke had already disappeared into the building by the time they arrived. Seijuro pointed to the building’s side and the two of them latched onto the wall.

“He’s going to get himself killed,” Rin said, finally able to catch his breath.

He noticed he was shaking--from exhaustion or fear, he wasn’t sure. He looked around, and felt very exposed this far away from the city, barely out of sight of the highways. He looked at Seijuro for reassurance; this was a terrible place to be for a gargoyle at the best of times. Seijuro gave him a knowing look back.

“He should definitely be taking it easy, but I can’t blame him; come on,” he said, as he gestured for Rin to follow him up to the window where he and Aiichiro entered last night.

Sousuke was standing in the room, empty except for the dusty floors and the smeared walls. His back was to them, his body slumped but rigid. Rin opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, he took a step forward but Seijuro put a hand in front of him.

“Where are they?” Sousuke asked.

“They’re safe, back in Samezuka. We wanted to let you rest for awhile, then see if you wanted to hold a Wind Ceremony.”

“How many?”

“Five killed in their sleep, we didn't see anyone else.”

Sousuke's head moved to the side, he paused, stared, then took a step towards the wall, his fists balled tightly. Red paint smeared his palm as he ran a hand down the sledgehammer sigil and dug his claws into the mark. “Murdered.”

Sousuke turned towards Seijuro and Rin, but looked past them, all the adrenaline drained out of him, now that he knew the truth for himself. He looked defeated, a mountain of strength and power wilting like a dead flower. It was slow, quiet flight back to Samezuka.

 

Wind Ceremonies are normally held amongst clans built of friends and family to honor their dead, but Sousuke was performing his surrounded by strangers. Seijuro asked if he wanted the clan present, and Sousuke, maybe too emotionally drained or grateful, decided to permit only three to attend—Seijuro, Aiichiro and Rin. There were whispers in the clan about letting their leader go off alone with the rogue, but Seijuro quickly hushed them. He may not have known him long, but he liked to believe he knew enough about him to call him earnest.

For now, they had to focus on honoring Sousuke and his dead, but Seijuro was quickly coming to the conclusion that Sousuke truly wasn't the one who wrecked the shop that night.

After putting Kazuki and Takuya in charge again, Seijuro gave the bundle to Sousuke. He cradled it tightly, his arms, his stance were surprisingly steady. Rin and Ai could only hold their breath and hope to be so composed if they were in the same situation—lost, grieving, and maybe even scared. Sousuke asked Seijuro where the nearest cliff was, and he pointed towards the coastline. Seijuro lead the way, with Rin and Ai trailing behind, the flight once again silent.

When they made it to the cliff, all was quiet except for the rustling of the leaves. Even the hum of the city was dulled out, muffled by height, foliage, and a wide expanse of beach and beachside homes down below. The cliffside looked out onto the distant islands and beyond that an endless blanket of sparkling sea. Sousuke looked back at the city, wondered where within those iron towers his clan was, who was still out there. He glanced back at the three who he permitted to attend—the three that helped him and kept his fallen family safe. They did as they were told and stood back, patiently waiting to oblige Sousuke with whatever he’d ask of them. Had the wounds of grief not been so new, he'd probably crack a smile at how miserable to Rin looked, trying his best to hold back tears that he probably didn't think he deserved to shed.

Sousuke waited for the wind to pick up and blow out towards the water. He closed his eyes and let out a drawn out breath as he held the bundle close to his chest one more time before he unraveled it. He sighed, he couldn't even tell who had been killed, the remains pulverized so badly. Normally, it'd be his job and the job of his clan to reduce the bodies themselves, but the hunters who murdered them already crushed them to bits, unaware of their names, their faces, or their stories.

“Ashes to ashes,” he began, and opened the bundle a little more, so the miniscule stone fragments could fly freely, “dust to dust,” the wind picked up, “all is one with the wind.”

Sousuke feel to his knees and he stared at the empty bundle. He held it for what felt like minutes before he folded it on the cliff's edge and stood.

He nodded at Seijuro, and he nodded back.

“If it's alright with you, I think I want to be alone for awhile,” Sousuke says, even though he knows the answer.

“Sorry, can't do that just yet, can't be too careful. You should be resting, anyway.”

Sousuke says nothing, just huffs out.

Seijuro lets out a stream of air of his own. “I put Rin in charge of you for now, he'll go with you, but he'll _keep his distance_ ,” Seijuro gives Rin a look and he knows it's a command.

Sousuke was in no mood to fight, and he already knows the Samezuka leader well enough to know that fighting with him would be a long, heated battle. So he accepted the compromise. He spread his wings to ease down the cliffside, and stopped on the rocks just above the water.

“Sir, maybe I should stay, too, in case he gives Rin trouble,” Aiichiro whispers.

“No need, Ai, I trust him, this is just a precaution” Seijuro says and turns to Rin, as Sousuke finds his point of entry and dives into the water. “Besides, he's your charge, after all.”

Normally Seijuro would follow that line up with a famous smirk, but tonight there's a seriousness there that makes Rin realize what that means. He invited a stranger into their clan, and as such he's responsible for being the bridge between the two. Rin wipes the corners of his eyes dry and nods as Seijuro and Ai head back for the district. He landed on the rocks just out of reach of the rolling waves and watched as Sousuke swam through the water, working off the grief and the aggravation.

Rin played the part of a fly on the wall, curled in on himself to make himself as unobtrusive as possible. Eventually, Sousuke found a still pool among the rocks and leaned against them, letting the water ebb and flow around his body. He tucked his wings behind him so they could soak and dipped his bad shoulder into the water; even after a day’s sleep, it still hissed with tension. The tide picked up a little and Sousuke stayed submerged, letting the water take him into a headspace far away from the reality he currently had to face.

Sousuke wants to be frustrated by Rin’s presence, if only because he’s used to dealing with these sort of things on his own, but he’s actually glad he’s there, and even appreciative that he’s trying his best to pretend not to pay attention.

He even contemplated—not really, he’s just weighing his options—dragging Rin into the water, and escaping; it would be hours before the trusting Samezuka clan would be the wiser, but Sousuke finds himself wracked with guilt for even thinking such a thing. He was no prisoner, the clan had let him honor his dead, and, in any case, he was sure Rin would put up a hell of fight. Even if he planned on betraying them, he wouldn’t do it tonight.

Sousuke let out a sigh; it was deep, full of heavy thoughts that Sousuke kept nice and buried behind a wall of stoicism. Rin couldn’t help but smirk a little; he’s dealt with that kind of attitude before and, personally, he never thought it worked.

“You might want to move up a little, the tide’s coming in,” Rin said. Sousuke pretended to ignore him.

Rin removed his arm from under his chin when the waves continued to rise. By the time they touched Sousuke’s cheek, Rin decided to move and tap him on the shoulder. Sousuke shuddered, as if waking up. He frowned as he looked up at the starry sky, then at Rin’s silhouette above him that grounded him back to reality. He clicked his teeth together in annoyance, and pushed himself up, slowly, like it's the last thing he wanted to do. He noticed Rin give him a pitiful look—it’s almost genuine enough that Sousuke forgets that he’s being forced to keep an eye on him—but Sousuke's grateful that Rin's too smart to say something as oblivious as “Are you okay?”

The gargoyle moved to sit on the rocks and he blinked at Rin to give him permission to sit next to him. Rin stayed near him but decided to crouch, it was a little less intrusive.

Sousuke stared aimlessly into the distance, where his clan currently danced towards what he could only hope was a bright afterlife. Rin was occupying himself with looking out onto the water, but he caught Sousuke’s vacant stare out the corner of his eye. He recognized that look, that absent feeling of being physically there, and wanting, _aching_ , not to be anymore, as if disappearing would make all the hurt go away. It pained Rin to see him like that; even if Sousuke turned out to be their enemy, right now he was little more than broken and alone.

“I have a friend who likes the water,” Rin says. He stares at the island while he says it.

It’s worth a shot, maybe he can get Sousuke out of his own headspace.

Sousuke followed his eyes and almost looked at the island with hope, but nothing on Rin hinted that his clan could be there. He wasn’t really curious,but he asks just to appease him, which was what Rin was hoping for. “Who?”

“His name is Haruka. Sometimes, if you look out onto the water long enough, you can see him swimming in the waves. I think he spends more time in the water than he does in the air. We used to race a lot when we were kids, and he almost always beat me. Can’t remember the last time I’ve touched the water…”

Sousuke stays quiet for a concerning amount of time before he finally murmurs out, “It helps.”

“The water?”

“Yeah. I actually grew up by an ocean, I used to swim in it for hours, I loved how it felt, the cool water after a hot day, the salt seeping into your skin. Time kind of—I don’t know—stays still, lets you think.” Sousuke adjusted himself, so his wings fanned out. “But, things changed and we had to move, and it became harder and harder to find water to drink from, never mind swim in. I almost forgot what it felt like, to let the waves carry me away.”

“It seemed like you wanted them to carry you away a little too much,” Rin gambled saying that. When Sousuke didn’t respond, he continued, “You can’t give up, Sousuke, not like this.”

“I know.” He meant it. “I don’t want to, I’m just...I’m very tired.” Sousuke laid on his back, letting the water drip off of him, back into the ocean.

Rin bit his lip, in a rare moment of thinking before he decided to speak. “Then rest.”

Sousuke opened a glaring teal-blue eye.

“You can’t find your clan or fight for them if you don’t fight for yourself, too. We’re not your enemies, and I don’t think you’re ours; you don’t have to do this alone, let us help you.”

He seemed content with that. He folded over his arms over his stomach, which Rin took it as a sign he was falling asleep, and, prepared to spend hours by his side, he finally sat, crossing his legs in front of him.

“What were you doing in that alley?”

Rin blinked. “I was looking for someone.”

“Did you find them?”

“I’m not sure.”

The teal gargoyle opened his eyes again and, to Rin’s surprise, stood up. He was tall and firm, unwavering in stature, but clearly unsure of himself. He wanted to keep going, wanted to push forward, but Rin knew all too well that feeling of hopelessness that can suck every ounce of energy out of you. No matter how good your plans were, how logical your thinking was, that hole, that ugly, wretched hole that forms in your gut after you lose a loved one, can consume you at any moment and bring all your plans, your hopes, your happiness into a place where it feels like it’ll never emerge again. Rin knows he doesn’t show it as much as he should, but he thanks the stars every night for his brothers and sisters, because he knows he’d be a shell of himself without them.

Rin brings Sousuke back to earth again. “Sousuke, swim with me?”

“What?”

“Come on, we have a lot of work ahead of us and we may not get the chance again anytime soon; show me how you used to swim back in your old home.”

“I…,” Sousuke blanks and looks up at the sky, feels like he doesn’t have permission to do anything but work or die. Rin waited for his reply; he wasn’t really trying to force him, but he was definitely trying to gauge his resilience.

“...Yeah, ok.” It was small, but Sousuke definitely smiled.

Sousuke moved to jump back into the water, but stopped, noticing Rin take the time to reach behind him and untie the line of knots in his shirt, behind his back. Sousuke disrobes of everything above the waist and grimaces at the rags he’s had on for weeks, that were already a mess long before he got to the city.

“We’ll get you a new one,” Rin said, and threw his shirt to the side.

Rin kneels above the water, ready to give the signal. “Rin,” Sousuke pauses again, and Rin’s glad they’re about to focus on swimming rather than talking, because the way he says his name is so genuine that he feels—physically feels—the moment he could no longer consider Sousuke a rogue. He doesn’t say it out loud, nor whisper it to himself, because he can’t find the right word, so he tells himself the closest thing he can think of. _Clan_. “Thank you.”

Rin’s eyes beamed, windows into a contagious fire that, unbeknownst to him, have burned their way into Sousuke’s soul.

Rin restarts the countdown, and they both plunge into the water with such power that the waves they make crash aggressively against the rocky shore. They raced briefly, before losing themselves to the sensation of the weight of the entire ocean around them, more than happy to get lost in the blue-blackness of it all for awhile. Rin hasn’t been in the water for awhile—he can swim, technically, but he has to re-learn how to maneuver his wings underwater—so he stays close to the surface, but he notices how deep Sousuke dives, how powerful his strides are. He was an expert; legs pushing his forward, wings adjusting accordingly. If Sousuke ever wanted to give himself to the water again, _this_ was how.

Rin breaks the surface, Sousuke soon after, and he quickly moved away before Sousuke noticed their closeness.

“You weren’t lying,” Rin said, swimming in lax backstrokes.

“You thought I was?”

“No.”

“This isn’t a ruse to drown me, is it?”

“No, but maybe it’ll make you tired, so you’ll actually stay still when we tell you to.”

Sousuke’s ears wilted slightly in a way that Rin was sure few had seen. He looked almost apologetic. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize; you had all the right to be there, and you had to see for yourself, I get it.”

“No, I’m not sorry for going, but I am for putting myself, and by association, you and your leader, in danger. It was reckless. You’re right, I won’t help anybody if I get myself killed. I…,” Sousuke paused, contemplated, and said, “will try to do better.”

“You and me, both. Pretty sure Seijuro wants me to keep an eye on you to keep me in line, too.”

“So you’re the reckless one.”

Rin shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not.”

Sousuke swam back to the rocks. Rin bobbed for a few seconds before following. They shook off, and Rin threw his shirt over his damp skin; Sousuke left his untouched. He looks up the coastline at Iwatobi City, a brightness in his eyes. He’s not ready to take on the city just yet, but he knows he will be, and that’s enough to convince him to keep going.

***

The entirety of Samezuka stared down at them. Rin and Sousuke are standing with determined faces, a complete one-eighty from the grimaces they wore on their way to the cliff, not to mention dripping wet. The look on Seijuro’s face was priceless enough that Rin had to bite his lip.

As long as Sousuke hadn’t drowned Rin, Seijuro couldn’t be bothered enough to ask.

Seijuro ordered for a couple of rags to dry them off, and got one of his old shirts to give to Sousuke. It was a small gesture, but Rin knew it was the beginning of Seijuro initiating him into the clan publically.

While Kazuki handed a rag to Sousuke, Seijuro took the other, teetered over to Rin, and leaned. “‘Keep his distance,’ I said; ‘I do what I want,’ Rin replied.” Seijuro smacked Rin on the back of the head and threw the rag into his arms. Rin smirked as their leader walked away.

Kazuki and Aiichiro helped Sousuke into his new shirt. Sousuke marveled at the way his new shirt wrapped over his shoulder and clicked on the side, perfectly accustomed for individuals with wings. He’s no longer a clanless rogue, at the very least he has allies.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is my first attempt at fanfic in years and I'm both very excited and nervous to be writing again!
> 
> You can find me and my art/fandom ramblings on Tumblr (straysketches) or Twitter (straysparkles) ♥


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